Reports in the NY Times and elsewhere point to the rise of Chinese language instruction in our schools, against the backdrop of the demise of language learning in general. People justify this rush to Chinese by referring to the growth of the Chinese economy. The US government has declared Chinese a “critical language.” How realistic is this Chinese boom, and will it last? Here is a reality check.

1) Chinese will probably not help your kid get a job.

Chinese is being touted as the language of the future, given the growth of the Chinese economy. Some predict that a knowledge of Chinese will be big advantage in the job markets of the future. It is worthwhile remembering that Chinese is the language of business in only one country, China. Relatively few American kids are going to be working in China after graduating.

2) Chinese is not an international language and unlikely to become one.

Almost all Chinese speakers are in one country. Chinese is not an international language. It is not used widely by speakers of third languages. It is unlikely that this will change in the short term because Chinese is very difficult to learn, for most people.

3) Chinese is difficult.

Chinese has no vocabulary in common with English, unlike Spanish, where over the half the words are similar to English words. Most kids in the US who study Spanish do not  learn to speak. English speaking school kids in Canada have had similarly poor results with their French studies. It is likely that kids who study Mandarin in schools will have even more difficulty.

4) Learning the Chinese writing system is time consuming.

To write Chinese requires the learning of several thousand characters. Each character consists of up to 15 or more strokes.  Chinese children are surrounded by the written language from early childhood. Our kids would have devote an immense amount of time to this task. There is already a fundamental problem with literacy in English in our schools. Learning to write Chinese would be a major distraction for most school children.

5) There is little chance to use Chinese.

While there are around 40 – 50 million Spanish speakers in the US, there are only 2 million Chinese speakers. However, most of these Chinese speakers speak Cantonese, so students studying Mandarin would not have many native speakers to practice with, even assuming that some would learn to speak.

6) The rush to Chinese is being pushed by the Chinese government.

The Chinese government has a major program to promote Chinese language studies around the world and appears willing to pay for teachers and for trips to China for school administrators. This represents an opportunity to establish Chinese language programs in certain schools, no doubt. Is it advisable, however, for school curricula to be determined by the promotional activities of foreign governments?

7) Learning Mandarin makes sense for other reasons.

There are excellent reasons to offer Mandarin, as an option, in our schools, without the hype and without making it a “critical language”. For much of the last 4,000 years of history about 20% of humanity has been Chinese. Chinese culture has had an important influence on the course of history. The number of schools in the US offering Chinese has grown from 1% to 4% from 1997 to 2008. This is hardly surprising and is, in fact, largely overdue. Mandarin language instruction should be offered, and looked upon from a longer term educational perspective, and not as a sudden reaction to recent Chinese economic growth.

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, and President of KP Wood Ltd. He is also the founder and CEO of LingQ.com. Steve speaks eleven languages and maintains a blog on language learning. He wrote the book The Linguist, A Language Learning Odyssey.

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This report and other recent studies show that online learning, distance learning, and self-learning in general, are not only more convenient, but, in fact, more effective than the classroom, for high school, college and adult learners. In the last decade, the Internet, the MP3 player, the iPhone, and other mobile devices,as well as social networking sites, language exchange communities, online learning systems, university courses online and more, have changed how we deal with knowledge. Independent programmer-entrepreneurs are constantly developing new learning applications. The language lab is already obsolete, can the college lecture hall be far behind? The walls of academia, and the costs of learning, are crumbling before our eyes and ears.

For those who are conditioned to think that learning only happens in a classroom, the world of self-learning can be a little daunting. How do we best take advantage these new opportunities.

1. Get interested

Make no mistake. Your interest in the subject is the essential driver of success. You can’t learn what you do not want to learn. Emotion is an important part of the learning process. If you are even moderately interested in a subject, give yourself  a chance. The key is to get started. If you can create some pleasurable routines, you may find that the subject grows on you. “L’appetit vient en mangeant” (the appetite comes with eating) as they say in French.

2. Expect problems and you won’t be disappointed.

Don’t expect to understand things, much less remember them, the first time you study them. Trust that things will get clearer as your brain comes to grips with new information. It is like a jig-saw puzzle or a cross-word puzzle. As you start to put the pieces together, or string the words together, the full picture becomes clearer. The brain learns all the time, but on its own schedule. Learning does not take place according to a schedule laid down by a curriculum or teacher. Some things are easier to learn than others. Some things just take longer to click in. Keep at it, and you will gradually find that things that seem difficult at first, will become second nature with time.

3. Cover the same ground from different angles.

Your brain is struggling to form patterns to cope with new input from your learning activities. Sometimes, no matter how long you focus on one subject, your brain is not going to pick it up. If you are stuck, move on. Then cover the same general information from a different source, a different book, or a podcast, or an online lecture or a video. Try to become a grazing learner, roaming the countryside, rather than a feedlot learner, just standing there in one spot, munching on the same bale of hay. The broader your base, the easier it is to learn. Just as the “rich get richer”, the more you know, the more you can learn.

4. Anytime is learning time.

Take full advantage of the Internet, iTunes, and various mobile devices, not to mention good old-fashioned books and magazines. Learn during “dead time”. Listen in your car, on the train, or while jogging. Have your learning with you while waiting in the doctor’s office, or listen while checking out at the supermarket. Anytime is learning time. Remember, you are learning through exposure, not by nailing things down. It is more like moisture accumulation in a cloud, rather than building a brick wall.

5. Be a multimedia learner.

The more varied your learning content, and the more varied the ways in which you learn, the clearer the puzzle will become. Different learning activities suit different people, at different times of the day. Vary your activities in order to keep your interest level up. Even if listening and reading work best for you, treat yourself to the odd video lecture, or get-together with other learners. This will renew your batteries.

6. Join learning communities.

The “loneliness of the distance learner” is a thing of the past. Join a learning community on the web, where members share their knowledge and experience. Search for the communities that suit your interests and learning style. You will find encouragement, advice and stimulus from fellow learners, as well as from tutors, teachers and coaches. In these communities, you can measure your progress against your own goals, or compare your experience with that of other learners. You can even teach and help others, which is a great way to learn.

Never has it been easier nor more exciting to be a learner. Let constant learning be a major part of your life-style. The rewards will be constant, personally, socially, and professionally.

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve is the founder and CEO of LingQ.com an online language learning system and Web 2.0 community. Steve speaks eleven languages, having recently learned Russian at LingQ. Steve maintains a blog on language learning,and has written a book on language learning called The Linguist, A Language Learning Odyssey.

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One of the most innovative thinkers on language learning is Stephen Krashen, who has pointed out that languages are acquired through meaningful input and not deliberate instruction. His insights are being confirmed by the latest research on how the brain learns, as described in an excellent book by German brain researcher, Manfred Spitzer, Learning: The Human Brain and the School for Life. As Spitzer says, learning takes place in the brain, not at school.

Here are seven concepts of natural language learning that reflect the most recent research on how the brain learns.

1. The brain can learn languages, trust it.

The brain learns all the time, and, in fact, is designed to learn. Throughout our lives the brain retains “plasticity”, creating neurons, and neural connections, in response to what it sees, hears and experiences. The brain draws its own conclusions from the input it receives, and is better at forming its own rules than understanding logical explanations. The brain is always at work, consuming over 20% of the body’s calories. We can learn languages right into old age, and in fact it is good for the brain to do so.

• The brain develops its own rules, naturally, from the observation of the input it receives.
• The brain takes its time to learn, requiring continued exposure to meaningful and interesting content.
• The brain can prioritize what to learn, dealing with easier subjects first, and more difficult ones later.

2. The brain needs stimulus. Give it massive amounts of meaningful input.

The brain likes things that are relevant and interesting. So if the task is language acquisition, the most important condition is massive and continuous exposure to interesting and relevant language content. At first, when the language is new, it is helpful to reinforce what has been learned by repetitive listening and reading. As we progress we need to find new, fresh, interesting, stimulating and meaningful content.

• We learn better from stories, real conversations, examples and episodes than from rules and facts.
• We learn best from content that matters to us.
• It is easier to listen to and read content is at the right level of difficulty, however the interest and relevance to the learner is the most important consideration.

3.  The brain will miss things. We can help the brain notice the language.

The brain learns naturally by observing, constantly labeling and creating its own rules. But the brain can miss things. We should, from time to time, review grammar rules and tables, focus on mistakes we have made, or study specific words and phrases that we have learned. We should also attempt to write and speak, if we feel like it. These activities, which dominate traditional language learning, are, however, optional and minor activities in a natural language learning system. They increase attentiveness but should not take away from the main activities of listening and reading.

• Good language output can only come from absorbing massive amounts of language input.
• When we practice output, speaking and writing, or review vocabulary and grammar rules, we increase our attentiveness to the language.
• Heightened attentiveness increases the ability of the brain to notice the patterns and sounds of the language.

4. Learn to engage your emotions in order to increase learning efficiency.

Positive emotions energize the brain, and increase the efficiency of learning. An interesting story, a powerfully narrated audio book, a person we like – these are the things that will engage our emotions. Uninteresting learning tasks, or negative tension, decrease learning efficiency.

• We should stay with content we like, and discard content we do not like. We should do those learning tasks we enjoy doing.
• We should always combine audio with text, and choose narrators whose voice we enjoy. This will make it easier to listen repetitively.
• We need to like the language we are learning and at least some aspects of its culture.

5. When you learn naturally, you will feel motivated by your own success.

Motivation is the basic motor of learning. Success is motivating, as is praise. Any teaching activity which creates frustration, such as traditional grammar based language learning, can demotivate the learner. In a natural learning environment, the main task of the teacher is to encourage the learner to become independent of the teacher, rather than to impose tasks or explanations on the learner.

• Many of us want to learn another language but are skeptical of our ability to do so, because we have not done it before.
• As the strange language starts to acquire meaning through our listening and reading, our brain feels a sense of reward at this new and unexpected experience. This is highly motivating.
• Give language learning a chance, the results will be better than you think.

6. When we learn, we change. We need to accept this change.

When we learn, our neural networks change, physically. When we learn a new language, we adopt some of the behaviour patterns of another culture and our personalities and our perceptions change. Many of the difficulties that grown-ups face in language learning, come from the a resistance to change. It is often more comfortable  to follow the patterns and pronunciation of our own language, rather than to commit to fully imitating the new language.

• Children are not afraid to change. Moving to a new country, they learn the language of their new friends without hesitation.
• Older learners have a stronger vested interested in their own identity, and in what they already know.
• All learners benefit from the help of an encouraging tutor and an enthusiastic group of fellow learners, in order to overcome these barriers to learning.

7. The Internet – the new world of natural learning at our finger-tips.

The internet offers a wide range of content in many languages, many low-cost websites with efficient learning methodologies, online tutors, and people from around the world with whom to talk and interact.  The internet becomes the classroom, the library, the source of content, the language laboratory, and the support community. The Internet is the home of the language learning revolution, the natural language learning revolution.

• Internet learning is available whenever we want, at no, or little, cost.
• The iPod or MP3 player and other language resources on the Web have created a natural language learning revolution.
• Join a language learning community on the Web today!

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve is the founder and CEO of LingQ.com an online language learning system and Web 2.0 community. Steve speaks ten languages, having recently learned Russian at LingQ. Steve maintains a blog on language learning.

Lists of seven ways to improve yourself are popular on the web. Here is a seven-item list that could save lives. But first a little background.

A few days ago in Russia, one of the most promising young hockey players in the world, Alexei Cherepanov, died when his heart stopped working during a game in the Russian elite Continental Hockey League. Apparently there was one non-functioning defibrillator in the building.

How may people know what a defibrillator is and how to us one? A week ago I didn’t. Now I do. Here is my story and I hope it helps someone some day.

I am 63 years old and play old timers’ hockey. I was in a rush as I arrived late at our local rink a few nights ago. I wasn’t really late for the game, but I was the last guy in the dressing room, just 15 minutes before game time. It was 7.45 in the evening.

“You have been selected, Steve, because you are the last guy here.” I was told. “You have to come to the rink again tomorrow night at 7.30″

“What for?” I asked.

“They are giving a course on the use of a defibrillator and every team has to send someone” I was told.

“OK” I said and got my gear on as quickly as possible. I might learn something new, I thought.

The next evening I arrived on time for the presentation on how to use a defibrillator.  I had visions of some complicated machine with lots of wires. In fact it is very compact. It looks like a little yellow portable radio. Officially it is called an AED, for automated external defibrillator.

Our instructor was an off-duty fireman who was moonlighting for the company that distributes the AED device.

Here, in point form, is what I learned:

1. Anyone can suffer a sudden heart attack, regardless of age. A healthy 25 year old Detroit Red Wings hockey player named Jiri Fischer had a sudden cardiac arrest in a game. He was saved by an AED. Most professional sports teams in North America have AEDs on the bench.

2. At the first sign of any possible heart related problem, call 911 or emergency immediately. Time is of the essence.

3. If the victim has strong chest pains, or pains in the shoulder or jaw, this is a good sign. He or she may be having a heart attack, but the heart is still functioning. Just wait for the ambulance to show up.

4. If the person is quiet you have to move fast. If the heart has stopped, every minute equals a 10% deterioration in the functioning of the heart. It may not be possible to recover this loss of heart function. Our fireman instructor said that he always relaxes when he arrives on the scene and hears the victim groaning in pain. When the victim is quiet he worries.

5. If the victim just lies there lifelessly, and if no breathing is detected, it is essential to use the defibrillator as soon as possible. CPR  will not help if the heart has stopped. The fireman said that before he had an AED, he would be called to assist heart attack victims and his efforts all too often turned out to be in vain. Now with the AED, he saves well over 70% of these victims, and an even higher percentage if he gets to them early enough. I understood that, after calling emergency, if there is no sign of heart activity in the victim, it is vital to use the AED as soon as possible.

6. The AED is easy to use. Pads are attached to the victim’s chest, right onto his skin. There are clear and easy to understand drawings of where to put the pads. The AED comes with a voice recording, giving instructions, telling you what to do. Once the pads are connected, the AED starts to measure the heart of the victim, providing a valuable diagnostic record of the victim’s problem and progress. Depending on the diagnosis, the recording may instruct you to press the appropriate button which will deliver an electric shock to the victim. Everyone is required to stand clear of the victim before the shock is delivered. The electric shock will usually revive the victim’s heart. Occasionally an additional shock by the defibrillator is needed. In any case the AED’s voice recording provides all the necessary instructions.

7. Once the heart is beating and the victim starts breathing, CPR techniques should be applied, until the emergency response people arrive. When doing CPR, it is not necessary to do mouth to mouth, especially if you do not have a special mask to protect you from blood or other liquids from the victim’s mouth. Strong repetitive pressure or pumping on the chest is good enough. And, the fireman added, do not worry about the sound of cracking ribs. Even a broken rib is a minor problem compared to a heart that stops functioning.

I now know where the two AEDs at our local hockey rink are located. Do you know where they are in your building? I think our team will now make sure we have a cell phone at the bench for our games, so that we can call the ambulance immediately. We will be better prepared for an eventuality that may not happen. But if it does, the victim will stand a better chance of full recovery.

AEDs used to be very clumsy and expensive, but they now cost around $1,500 each and the price is coming down. Our fireman felt that one day they will be as common as fire extinguishers in the home.

I got home and checked out AED and CPR on the internet and youtube and found a great deal of useful information. Everyone should find out about these devices, and about what to do in the case of a heart attack. It could save a life.

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years.  Steve enjoys learning languages and maintains a blog on language learning. He speaks nine languages fluently and has been learning Russian for over two years, using LingQ, a language learning community that he founded.

In the global information age, maybe it should be “you are what you can say”. Language, in its varied manifestations, is mankind’s defining achievement, and it also defines us. Language can be social, political, technical, practical, entertaining, sensual, philosophical, and much more. At the banquet of life, each language is another course. The better you can use languages, your own and others, the more you can enjoy the feast. At least that has been my experience.

I have achieved varying degrees of fluency in 12 languages, and look forward to learning more. To me, there are three natural stages in language growth, which I outline here. Billions of dollars are wasted on ineffective language and literacy instruction programs, which ignore these natural stages.

The First Stage: Connecting With the Language (60-90 hours)

My Goal:	To become familiar with a strange language
My Measurable:	Learn to recognize 1000 words
Main task:	Listen repeatedly to short, simple content
My Target Languages:	(planned) Czech, Arabic, Hindi, Turkish

When I begin, I need to “connect” with the new language and overcome my resistance to its strange sounds and structure. I don’t need to speak. I don’t need to understand any grammar. I don’t need to get anything “right”. I am not interested in mastering a few phrases or simple greetings. I want to get into the language, to get a feel for it.

Here is how Fred Genesee of McGill University describes the beginning stages of language learning:

“When learning occurs, neuro-chemical communication between neurons is facilitated, in other words a neural network is gradually established. Exposure to unfamiliar speech sounds is initially registered by the brain as undifferentiated neural activity. As exposure continues, the listener (and the brain) learns to differentiate among different sounds and even among short sequences of sounds that correspond to words or parts of words…”

I start by repeatedly listening to short morsels of content. These are 30 seconds long at first, eventually growing to one minute or longer. I listen to the same mouthful (earful?) 20 times or more, to help forge the new “neural networks” in my brain. Ideally these short episodes are part of a longer “story”, which makes the whole context meaningful. After focusing intensely on a new episode, I review all the old ones, so that I am able to digest longer and longer cumulative doses of the language. The Internet and my iPod shuffle make this content accessible and portable like never before in history.

Nowadays, I read the text of whatever I am listening to on my computer. This allows me to access an online dictionary and create my own database of words and phrases for review in a variety of ways. This acquisition of words and phrases, encountered in my listening and reading, is my key measurable goal as I grow in a language.

New words in a language at first seem strange and confusingly similar to each other. However, by staying with simple content, where common words appear often in different contexts, these words eventually start to stick. I usually associate the new words and phrases with episodes where I have heard them. The more associations I can attach to a word or phrase, the easier it is to remember.

I don’t speak much at first. I have so few words anyway. I practice repeating words and phrases out loud to myself, in a haphazard manner. I don’t worry about pronunciation. That will be easier to work on once my brain gets better at distinguishing the sounds.

I might speak a little, just for fun, to try out what I have learned. I can easily find a native speaker tutor or language exchange partner via the Internet. I don’t got to classrooms, since I don’t want to be confused by other non-native speakers.

The Second Stage: Getting comfortable in Most Situations (180-360 hours)

My Goal:	To understand ordinary conversations and most everyday language
My Measurable:	Less than 10% unknown words in most conversations
Main tasks:	Listen to natural conversations; Work on vocabulary; Step up speaking and writing activity
My Target Languages:	Russian, Portuguese, Korean

Now that I no longer find the language strange, I want to deal with the language as it is usually spoken or written by native speakers. This is sometimes referred to as “authentic” language.

Conversation is the easiest “authentic” content to understand, because the most commonly used words of a language account for 90-95% of conversations. The same most commonly used words usually account for 70-75 % of more formal written material.

Each item of study is now longer, 3 to 5 minutes or so. I listen to each item less frequently and cover more material, in order to learn more words. I use dead time, doing chores, driving or jogging to listen, over and over. The more words I already know, the easier it is to learn new words. Vocabulary is like money, “the more you have the more you get” or “the rich get richer”.

I like to stick to interesting and familiar subjects in my listening and reading, so I quickly drop anything that is uninteresting, or where I do not like the voices. At first it seems that native speakers talk very quickly, but my brain gets used to the natural flow, with enough repetition. I am not frustrated when I do not understand “authentic conversation”. I feel exhilarated when I do.

Again, Professor Genesee’s observations are helpful: “Students’ vocabulary acquisition can be enhanced when it is embedded in real-world complex contexts that are familiar to them.” I sometimes talk to native speakers on the Internet. Speaking helps me to identify weaknesses, missing words, concepts that I can’t express, and words that I have trouble pronouncing. I can then work on these things on my own.

With limited contact with native speakers, I also write, especially on Internet blogs and forums. Writing is great for learning. I have time to compose my thoughts, and retain a record of my mistakes and problems.

At this stage, my main emphasis is still to listen, read, and increase my vocabulary.

The Third Stage: Constant Improvement (180 hours to forever)

My Goal:	To continue to enjoy the language, to learn more words, and to use the language better
My Measurable:	Less than 10% unknown words in contexts that are of interest to me
Main tasks:	Follow my interests
My Target Languages:	French, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, Swedish, German, Italian, Cantonese, English

This is the most rewarding stage. I can travel to the country where the language is spoken, or meet with native speakers. I know I will enjoy the experience, even though I make mistakes. I can maintain the language, even if I go for long periods without using it.

This is the best stage to study grammar. I have books and audio books on grammar, intended for native speakers of the language. I am now familiar enough with the language, through exposure, that I can use style and usage manuals intended for native speakers. Nevertheless, my personal interest takes me more to history and literature. I find reading books and listening to audio books, on subjects of interest, is the most enjoyable and most effective way to continue improving, or to refresh in a language that I have not used for a while.

I am not required to take any language proficiency tests. If I were, this is the stage when I would prepare in earnest for them. The keys to success on these tests are, the ability to read quickly and comprehend the spoken language, and a wide vocabulary of words and phrases, all of which I have already acquired, enjoyably and painlessly. Only at this level would I take these test, since I know that I would score well.

This is also the stage to work on special skills like making presentations, writing academic papers, or producing business reports. It is easy to find relevant material in the target language on the Web and elsewhere. The goal is to imitate the wording and turns of phrase, as well as the ways of organizing information, that are most appreciated in a particular language and culture. It is easy enough to find a native speaker professional tutor or coach, again via the Web, to work on these skills.

Conclusion

Having done it a few times, I know that I can learn a new language, or improve in a language I already speak well, including my own. So can anyone else who wants to. The key is motivation and enjoyment, not a school or a diploma. I know, as well, that the pursuit of perfection in any language is futile, so I am happy to make mistakes and do not really ask to be corrected. I just like to feast on languages, drinking, eating, tasting, chewing and digesting them. I never get full, although I may get a little intoxicated from time to time.

This is the final article in a series of three on language learning by Steve Kaufmann. Steve is a former Canadian diplomat and has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve founded The Linguist Institute Ltd. in 2002 to develop a new approach to language learning using the web. The new LingQ system for learning multiple languages is now available. Steve also maintains a blog on language learning.

We don’t need a special gift for language learning. Doing so is natural to us all. Today, in the Internet and information age, we no longer live in isolation, linguistically or culturally. The opportunity to engage with other languages is greater than ever.

So why don’t more people learn other languages, especially in North America? In part it is because of the seven common misconceptions about language learning, which confuse people. There are also five common excuses for not learning a language. But are they valid?

1. I am not interested in languages, I don’t need them

Is this really true? What if you could do it for free, free of cost and free of effort?

I sold encyclopedias door to door, almost 50 years ago. My door-opener was, “if you could get a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, free of charge, would you be interested?”. That often got me in the door. Parents could visualize an encyclopedia to share with their children. Once I explained that it was not free, “but for less than you spend on coffee or cigarettes…,” I was usually shown the door.
I use the same question with reluctant language learners. “If you were guaranteed to learn to speak another language, without a lot of hard work, would you be interested?” The answer is usually “yes”.

Many people who say they are not interested, would really like to speak another language. Some may even have heard that language learning is excellent stimulus for the brain. But too often the image they see is one of tedious study. They do not have the experience of speaking another language. They cannot visualize the feeling of satisfaction that this brings. So in many cases the interest is there, it is just a matter of getting started.

2. I would like to learn but I cannot seem to get started

Sometimes the goal of fluency in a language seems too far off, and difficult to envision if you have never done it. It may be better to set a short term goal to kick-start your studies, to “get your feet wet” and overcome this inertia. “L’appetit vient en mangeant” say the French, “appetite comes with eating”. You just need to create the incentive to take that first bite.

Why not plan a trip to another country, and make it your goal to learn enough of the language before going, so that you can communicate and really enjoy your stay? Or, if you cannot do that, you could promise yourself that you are going to read a book, or watch a movie, in the original version. Maybe you have a friend or relative whom you want to surprise by speaking in their language. If you can make that first step, inspired by a short term goal, and if you study in an enjoyable way, you will be surprised how addictive and satisfying language learning can be.

3. I have tried before but gave up

You are more likely to continue if your language study is meaningful and enjoyable. For most people, languages classes at school were a chore, and few students graduated speaking the language they were learning. Nowadays you have more options.

Go to google and check out the many podcasts and online courses available for learning languages. You can also find blogs and forums and social networking sites, all dedicated to language. Once you get good enough in the language, you can search your iTunes directory for leading podcasts and blogs in different languages, on travel, technology, modern culture, or whatever you are interested in. You can also buy audio books in various languages via the Web, and in many cases the texts are also available for download at sites like Gutenberg.

With your MP3 player, you can listen over and over to things you find interesting, while absorbing the language. I recommend you to use those sources that have both audio and transcripts. That way you can read and use online dictionaries in order to understand what you are listening to. You need not get bogged down in grammar and drills. You will be surprised how fast you learn when you are enjoying yourself.

4. I am just not disciplined enough to study on my own

Then by all means get a tutor to help you with your learning activities. You can find tutors for most major languages on the Internet. A good personal tutor can be one of the best investments you make, providing you with feedback and encouragement.

You do not need to spend hours a day with your tutor. A few hours a week, or even one hour a week, can be enough to keep you on track. You can arrange times that are convenient, and talk to your tutor via voice over Internet, from wherever is most convenient. You avoid the travel to and from class, and on the Internet it is easy to cancel or change your tutor whenever you want.

5. I can’t afford the cost.
It need not cost that much. Here are some suggestions on the kinds of investments you can make to increase the effectiveness of your studies, based on my own personal experience.

If you follow my model, your total cost for a year of study could amount to as much as $1,540. In all likelihood, however, it will be much less, if you already own an MP3 player, have Internet access, and do not go for the many earphones, audio books, DVDs etc. that I use. You can find audio books and other material at libraries and there is a lot of language help available on the Internet, free of charge.

Even if you did spend $1,540 for the whole year, that is what thousands of foreign language learners spend every month at intensive language courses. You can do just as well on your own. And if you manage your finances well, you might just have enough money left over for that trip you promised yourself to start it all.

This is the second in a series of three articles on language learning by Steve Kaufmann. Steve is a former Canadian diplomat and has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve founded The Linguist Institute Ltd. in 2002 to develop a new approach to language learning using the web. The new LingQ system for learning multiple languages is now available. Steve also maintains a blog on language learning.

Image by Zoom Zoom.

On the other hand, Mandarin Chinese is spoken by over one billion people. Chinese origin words account for 60% of Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese vocabulary. Knowing Chinese will help you learn these languages too. It helped me. Chinese culture has influenced the world for thousands of years with its art, philosophy, technology, food, medicine and performing arts. Today China’s economy is booming. Chinese seems well worth learning.

Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese are essentially dialects of the same language. If you learn one, you can learn the others. I did. If you learn Spanish, you open the door to the culture, music, history and possible business dealings with 800 million people in 60 countries, including the US and Canada.
If you get ambitious you could try Russian, as I have been doing for the last two years. Once you have Russian you can probably communicate with other Slav speakers.

But hold it here! Before getting carried away, let’s look at the present situation of language teaching. According to one Canadian survey, after 12 years of daily French classes, only one high school graduate out of 147 (0.68%) achieved “intermediate” proficiency. Another survey of immigrants learning English in the US showed that “classroom instructional hours” had little impact on progress.

If we cannot teach our own official languages in North America, what hope is there for other languages like Chinese or Spanish, let alone Russian, Arabic or Hindi?

As a speaker of 10 languages I know the benefits of speaking more than one language. We simply have to change the way we go about teaching languages. To start with we need to dispel seven common misconceptions about language learning.

1. Language learning is difficult

It is only difficult to learn a language if you don’t want to. Learning a language takes time, but is not difficult. You mostly need to listen and read. Believe me, it is that simple. I have done it many times. Soon you feel the satisfaction of understanding another language. Before you know it you start speaking. It is the way languages are usually taught that makes language learning hard to like.

2. You have to have a gift for learning languages

No you don’t. Anyone who wants to, can learn. In Sweden and Holland most people speak more than one language. They can’t just all be gifted at languages. Foreign athletes in North America usually learn to speak English faster than people in more formal learning environments. In language learning it is attitude, not aptitude, that determines success.

3. You have to live where the language is spoken

Some immigrants to North America never learn to speak more than halting English. Yet we meet people in other countries who speak flawless English. In 1968, I learned to speak Mandarin fluently while living in Hong Kong, where few people spoke it. With the Internet, language content is available to anyone with a computer, and you can download it to your iPod and listen. Where you live is not an obstacle.

4. Only children can learn to speak another language well

Recent brain research has demonstrated that our brains remain plastic well into old age. Adults who lose their eyesight have to learn a new language, braille, for example. Adults have a wide vocabulary in their own language and are better language learners than children. I have learned 4 languages since the age of 55. Adults only need the child’s willingness to experiment and desire to communicate, without the fear of ridicule.

5. To learn a language you need formal classroom instruction

This is the crux of the problem. Classrooms may be economical to run and a great place to meet others. They have the weight of history and tradition behind them. Unfortunately, a classroom is an inefficient place to learn a language. The more students in the class, the more inefficient it is. Languages cannot be taught, they can only be learned. Theoretical grammatical explanations are hard to understand, hard to remember, and even harder to use. Drills and exercises are annoying to most people. A majority of school kids graduate unable to communicate in languages that they study for 10 or more years.

6. You need to speak in order to learn (and I have nobody to speak to)

Speaking the language is usually the goal of language learning, but speaking can wait. Once you have acquired the language, you will find the opportunity to speak. When you are learning the language it is more important to listen. Trying to just pick up a few “handy” phrases to say is likely to just get you into trouble. If you meet a native speaker, you will inevitably spend most of your time listening unless you already know the language. You do not need to speak in order to learn, you need to learn in order to speak.

7. I would love to learn but I don’t have the time

How about the time you spend waiting in line, commuting, doing things around the house, going for a walk? Why not use that time to listen to a language on your iPod? Once you get started, even 10 or 15 minutes a day will soon grow to 30 minutes a day, or one hour. If you believe you will achieve significant results, and if you enjoy doing it, as I do, you will find the time.

This is the first in a series of three articles on language learning by Steve Kaufmann. Steve is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve founded The Linguist Institute Ltd. in 2002 to develop a new approach to language learning using the web. The new LingQ system for learning multiple languages is now available. Steve also maintains a blog on language learning.

What is most likely to influence your success at school or at a job? The ability to read well. And that goes for your kids too. The declining literacy of our society has been a major concern of educators for a while now, and yet things are not getting better. One reason might be a failure to recognize that reading and literacy are personal skills, best acquired when associated with pleasure.

In most cases, how well we learn to read will depend largely on our exposure to language as children. If we hear people around us talking about a wide variety of subjects as children, we naturally pick up the words and phrases they use. If we pick up a lot of words, we will have an advantage when we start reading, and we will learn to read better. This, in turn, helps us to acquire more words, leaving the poor readers, who know few words, further and further behind. The literacy divide usually begins early in life, and can only be overcome by lots of reading later in life.

Much of the traditional advice to struggling readers, these days, seems to involve developing “cognitive strategies”. In this approach, readers are asked to focus more, to think, to be curious and ask questions, to analyze, to predict, to infer, and to monitor their understanding, or worse still to answer questions on their comprehension of what they have read. In other words they are asked to become self-conscious readers.I do not agree with this approach.

Here are my seven strategies for reading improvement.

1. Read about things that interest you. If you are interested in what you are reading about, the words will come alive, and you will be motivated to understand. You will feel satisfaction in accomplishing a task that you enjoy, and which you consider meaningful. The more you read, the better you will become at reading. Just get started and it will become a habit, as long as you are interested in what you are reading.

2. Read material that is at your level, or just a little difficult for you. Read material that you find easy to read, or just a little challenging. Looking up many unknown words in a conventional dictionary is tedious, and the results of the dictionary search quickly forgotten. It is better to stay within your comfort zone and keep reading. Soon you will be able to take on more difficult content.

3. Learn to read in depth, stay on the same subject for a while. If you are familiar with the subject you are reading about, you will understand better. Do not just read short articles. Commit to books. Stay with one author for at least one book. If the subject matter is new to you, you should even try to read a few different books or articles about the same subject, before you move on. This way you will meet the same vocabulary and ideas often, helping you to learn. You will also be able to get deeper into the subject and your reading confidence will grow.

4. If you have trouble reading, listen first. Many great works of literature were written to be read out loud. Learn to appreciate the art of the narrator. Listen to audio books or audio files of the material that you are reading. This will help make difficult content seem more familiar. If you can hear the new words and phrases that you are reading, you will have an easier time understanding and remembering them. Hearing the rhythm of someone reading a text will help your own reading.

5. Let your imagination get involved. Good readers get engrossed in their reading and let it trigger their imagination. Learn to enjoy your reading without asking too many questions or analyzing too much. It will just spoil the sensual enjoyment of the reading experience. You do not need to predict or analyze. Just enjoy and look forward to absorbing the information, ideas and thoughts expressed by the writer.

6. Don’t worry about what you don’t understand. Most of your reading should be for pleasure. You can enjoy reading without understanding all of what you read. You may even understand some things in your own personal way. Neither you nor a teacher needs to “monitor” your understanding. Learn to enjoy reading, even while feeling that you do not fully understand or remember what you have read.

7. Recognize that the key is to read a lot. You may develop a system for keeping track of new words that you encounter in your reading, using lists, or Flash Cards, or other memory systems available on the Internet or elsewhere. However, the main growth in your vocabulary and reading skill will come just from reading as much as you can. So learn to enjoy reading and read a lot. Keep reading, and you will become a better reader.

Unfortunately not all reading is just for pleasure. When you are reading a textbook or manual, or report or other material that have to read for school or work, you may need to underline, take notes, and read some parts over again, in order to retain what you are reading. However, if you have developed the habit of reading for pleasure, you will find that the cognitive techniques you need will come naturally, and that you will understand a lot better than before.

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve founded The Linguist Institute Ltd. in 2002 to develop a new approach to language learning using the web. The new LingQ system for learning multiple languages is now available in Beta. Steve speaks nine languages fluently and is currently learning Russian using LingQ. Steve maintains a blog on language learning.

Image from pingnews.com.

The word “university” would seem to imply the universe, infinity, no limitations. The reality of today’s universities is quite different.

Limitations of the Traditional System

University today is an institution with severe limitations. There are limitations on who gets in, limitations on who is teaching courses, limitations on what courses are offered, limitations on which courses you can enroll in, limitations on when courses are offered and on and on.

What’s more, universities are tremendously expensive. The average cost in North America is in excess of $25,000 per year per student, or around $5,000 for an 8 month course of study in one subject. In Canada, for example, 6.1% of GDP is spent on “higher education”.

The Potential of Online Education

The Internet is a much more promising model. The possible methods of delivery of educational content include video, audio, text, web conferences, blogs, podcasts, forums, and other forms of interactive learning.

Face to face meetings can also be efficiently organized through the web. Age, nationality and language need not restrict this interaction. And the web is accessible 24/7, 12 months of the year, and anyone can access the Internet from anywhere.

Professors, experts, coaches, and facilitators who make their skills and knowledge available on the Internet can choose what to charge, how to charge, or what to make available free of charge. The cost of these services will certainly be much less than the cost of courses at a university.

Interactive functionality and methods of searching for, storing and then reviewing bits of knowledge can make this environment a more effective learning space than the University lecture hall.

If the Internet takes a larger and larger share of education space, governments and other third party funders may well pay for some or most of these costs, just as they do for established educational institutions today. And the cost will be much lower, and the reach much broader, than the model of maintaining students at college.

Self Motivated Learning

The argument against “e-learning” is that learners soon lose motivation. However, e-learning methodology is improving just as a new generation of learners is more comfortable connected electronically than sitting in a class room.

What is more, we are not talking about elementary school children here. The mature life-long learner, whether 18 or 80, should be interested in what he or she is learning or else do something else. I know a large company in France that will pay for formal language classes for its employees, only if the employee spends 6 months on an inexpensive self-study program.

In other words, why should they pay for a learner who is not motivated. The same question needs to be asked by third party funders of college students, namely parents, tax-payers, foundations, alumni, corporations etc..

But there is another piece which will go a long way to help with motivation, accreditation or evaluation; the ticket that everyone goes to university to get.

Independent Evaluation

Society (and the learner) needs that “proof” of what the student really knows. I foresee an evaluation system developing via the web that will be independent of the providers of educational content.

These independent evaluators can include private coaches, or organizations administering various forms of essay and test correction. Test results, and correctors’ and coaches’ comments, can accumulate on a digital education profile (or portfolio) of the learner’s activities, which would also include records of written and oral presentations.

Details such as evaluation, verification and standards for the testers and coaches will have to be addressed. I am, however, confident that the economic cost and fairness of such a system would be superior to the university system that exists today.

Finally, if a truly universal “University” can be created on the web, this will provide peer inspired motivation. Perhaps we will achieve the vision of Ivan Illitch of world-wide, interlocking, learning “convivia “, communities of learning communities.

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve founded The Linguist Institute Ltd. in 2002 to develop a new approach to language learning using the web. The new LingQ system for learning multiple languages is now available in Beta. Steve speaks nine languages fluently and is currently learning Russian using LingQ. Steve maintains a blog on language learning.

I am trying to learn how to become more efficient myself, to reduce clutter, and establish priorities. I have quite a way to go, and therefore have nothing to offer in terms of advice about efficient work habits.

I am interested in language learning, however, and how humans use language for different purposes, including using eloquence to persuade other people to do things.

When I studied political science in Paris in the 60s, great importance was placed on oral presentations, and these had to follow a precise formula. Subsequently, as a diplomat and corporate executive, I often had to speak publicly in different languages. I still do now, even as a private businessman. Having an effective presentation formula in my pocket has made it all a lot easier.

On a recent trip to Sweden I bought an audio book on public speaking by a Swedish expert on the subject, Göran Hägg. The name of the book was “Praktisk Retorik” or practical rhetoric. I was in Stockholm for a week, so I did a lot of jogging, while listening to Hägg.

The audio book described the communication techniques of classical Greece and Rome, a time when the term “mass media” referred to public oratory. Human nature has not changed much since then, according to Hägg. He shows, with examples, how these classical techniques of rhetoric still apply today. Bill Clinton gets a lot of coverage in this CD.

Ancient orators like Cicero were speaking to captive audiences. It was not like mass media today, who often have to compete for the attention of people with short attention spans and remote control buttons. But there are also many situations today where the audience is captive. These include job interviews, sales presentations and other public speaking events, where the audience is obliged to listen.

In these situations what you say first is much less important than what you say at the end. The audience is not going anywhere. It is what they leave with that matters. Here the techniques of ancient rhetoric can work for you.

Exordium

To the ancients, the opening of a presentation, or exordium, had two goals. The first was to gain the sympathy of the listeners. You need to get your listeners to like you, before you try to persuade them of your arguments. So you should begin by saying a few humble and friendly things, how much you like their town, office or company etc., before getting into your subject.

This is where the tradition of the “unaccustomed as I am” opening comes from. The second, and equally important purpose of the opening is to clearly establish your own credibility. So you have to combine humility with a clear indication that you know what you are talking about. “I am glad to have this opportunity to meet with you and explain how much I just want to be a part of your team and put my experience and educational background to work for your company.” “I am a simple person who grew up not far from here, but since then I have accumulated experience that enables me to contribute so much as your elected representative..”

Narratio

Having earned the listeners sympathy and convinced them that you are someone they might believe or trust, you now tell them what you are going to talk about, in what is known as the Narratio. Here you provide an outline of the issue at hand in a narrative fashion. “Many of you are aware of the problems that we are having with public transport in our community.” “Global warming is an issue that is in the headlines of our newspapers every day”.”I am aware of the difficulty of reconciling the need to reduce capital expenditures while at the same time having to modernize, in a difficult competitive market.”

Now you are ready, in what is known as the Partitio, to set out the main arguments that you want to make. “What we need to do to address this problem is…” “The reason why my product is particularly suited to your situation….” “What I feel I can bring to your company is..” The ancients would sometimes follow this up with what a Confirmatio, where they would bring further proof of the position that was set out in the Partitio, piling on additional arguments.

Refutatio

At this point apparently, it is important to back off a little and offer a counter position. Let your audience look at the other side of the coin. The ancients would use what is known as Refutatio to introduce some contrary arguments. ” Some may argue that….” “I recognize that I do not have all the requirements of the job,”. “You have probably looked at my competitors product, and I recognize that there are good features there too.”

But, guess what? All of these counter arguments can easily be refuted, and that is of course what you do. That is why this part is known as Refutatio.

Peroratio

Now you are ready for your final appeal or Peroratio. You are Johnnie Cochran at O.J Simpson’s trial. You need to end with your strongest and most eloquent arguments, and a little emotion, so that your listeners are moved to tears, acquit your client, buy your product, hire you, or vote for you, or at least applaud loudly.

Does this really work you may ask. Is this formula not too transparent? How can you fit all situations into the same formula? The answer is simply that it works, every time. Of course you need to adapt it to the subject and situation at hand, but it works. It worked for ancient orators like Cicero and Quintillian, and it has worked for me time and time again.

If I can leave you with one thought it would be the following. Having a formula you can rely on for making presentations is powerful. It will shorten the time required for preparing presentations. What is more it will reduce your anxiety level at having to speak in front of people. You will feel that you are one step ahead of them and in control of the situation. I can tell you that you can literally have the audience on the edge of their seats, if you follow this approach.

If you re-read this article you will see that I have essentially followed the steps of classical oratory in presenting these ideas.

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve founded The Linguist Institute Ltd. in 2002 to develop a new approach to language learning using the web. The new LingQ system for learning multiple languages is now available in Beta. Steve speaks nine languages fluently and is currently learning Russian using LingQ. Steve maintains a blog on language learning.