While I was
searching material for my previous article I ran into a very interessting video (http://bit.ly/2KyXfmH)
where Patricia Kuhl, Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences and
co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the
University of Washington, speaks out about studies they ran on babies and their
capabilities to absorb a language. What really hit my mind about it was that
babies who were exposed to only video or audio didn’t actually get a thing
from them; appearently babies only absorb statistics if coming from a human being; the
machine alone does not work.
One big clear question came to my mind then: are language learning apps, which are super popular at the
moment, really effective?
Anyway I went on
the search again and read a few articles about Language Learning Apps; some, I found, were actually interesting.
The first
article (http://bit.ly/2Yy4iGc) by Fernando
Rosell-Aguilar, Senior lecturer in Spanish and Open Media Fellow, The open
University, appeared on The Conversation, and analyses the 2 most popular apps
out there: Duolingo and Busuu; apparently even Bill Gates has
signed up on Duolingo.
(Credit:
Duolingo)
Rosell-Aguilar, who finds up that apps users are using them mostly for extra practice with a different approch between female and male users. furthermore apps are perceived as a more informal learning activity.
Later in his research Rosell-Aguilar concludes that Language Learning Apps are really useful if used
in addition to regular classes with a “human” teacher.
On the other hand, as describe in this commentary http://bit.ly/2YOpKSm, Professor Shawn Loewen carried out a research
on 85 undergraduates at MSU who were asked to use Babbel for 12 weeks to
learn Spanish after taking a pre-test to assess their actual oral skills. At the
end of the 12 weeks, the 54 students
who completed all the study requirements had improved both their knowledge and their
ability to communicate, as proved by the test results they got at the end of
the 12 weeks.
So, it looks
like these app are quite useful although I still wonder if they work
effectively even when you have no knowledge at all, when you have to start from
zero. That’s why I signed up on Duolingo
and I will test its efficiency myself with Russian in the next months and I
believe you should do the same. Are you asking yourself why?:
- You can exploit your commuting-time effective
- lt is for free (at least Duolingo is)
- You will never again ask for burro in Spain hoping to get some butter and receive a donkey instead
I am Eleonora a 44-year-old Italian from Milan who is about to transform
her passion for foreign languages into a brand new career as a freelance
English teacher.
I started learning English at 7 and while perfecting it in high-school I
began learning German and Spanish. I strongly believe learning a foreign
language helps people to open their minds and connect to other cultures. You
can find me on Twitter.
This blog is part of my path in the Cousera – Social Media Marketing
specialization offered by the Northwestern University http://bit.ly/CourseraSMM under the guidance of Randy Hlavac, Lecturer, Medill
IMC; CEO, Marketing Synergy Inc.
If you liked this
article please stay tuned or come back visiting because in the next weeks I
would like to talk with you about:
- · Is it possible to learn a foreign language quickly?: Some tips and tricks
- · When you are the teacher: some fundamentals to be effective while teaching English as a second language
- · Learning a second language: which language should I choose?
- · The real benefits of learning a second language
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