Methodology for Language Learning: Learn about language learning methods: How to work with a new language? What is best in general? What is best for you?
We are entering phase 2, according to the method. This means that we are using small picture books, little stories, to talk. For example, we start with the story of a bear who finds a shoe in a wood. He loves it and manages to put it over his left foot. Later he finds a…
“How many words do I need to know in order to learn this language?” As a language coach, I’ve been (pleasantly) surprised that I haven’t heard his question more often. But people do sometimes wonder what level of vocabulary they’ll need in order to function. The first question you need to ask in order to…
You can talk all day long about language-learning methodology and what the best ways are to become a more proficient participator in a language and culture. And while these are important things to think about—how you go about learning a language has significant implications for how well you succeed—yet the single most important factor for…
As a language learning coach, when I discuss with people their language learning plans, they often tell me, “I’m a visual learner. I have to see the word on the page in order to remember it.” Ten years ago, I would have said the same thing. But what does it mean to be a visual…
Ask someone what the hardest language in the world to learn is, and they’ll probably tell you something like Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, or another language vastly different from English. Yet the truth is that there is no one “hardest” language. The difficulty of a language depends on the learner and his or her linguistic background:…
What makes a good language learner? Many people ask whether there are certain traits or skills which make some people better language learners than others. Does it take a mathematical mind to decode grammar? A musical ear to hear unfamiliar sounds? Someone with a great memory? Or is language learning aptitude, as it is often…
Dutch and German are not only neighboring languages geographically, they also both belong to the west-germanic language family and are quite similar. The difference is somewhat comparable to the one between Spanish and Portuguese. I have always been interested in the history and culture of the Netherlands. And even in my job I had to…
Why on earth do you still need to attend language courses once you have been in the country for more than a year? Well, I had to. Even though I had just came back from Spain, having been there for the third time for a total of over nine months, I had to go back…
Some of us are talkers; speaking comes naturally, and we almost always have something to say. Others of us, however, are much more comfortable listening, and marvel at how some people can seem to talk endlessly without ever coming up for air. Whether or not you have the gift of loquaciousness will no doubt affect…
So those are the most important philosophical underpinnings of GPA. Now on to the approach itself. GPA is divided into 6 phases, each of which I’ll describe briefly. Phase 1: the Here and Now Phase. In this phase, you start out not being able to participate at all. So you need a lot of non-verbal…