Katherina Boghdanets's Posts (2)

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Learning a foreign language can be a challenge but dynamic immersion language learning software takes a different approach that has it's pros and cons.

Many people dream of learning a new language outside of their mother language. But what seems to be discouraging for most is the ill-adjustment of learning the grammatical rules attached to foreign languages. Another discouraging factor is the humiliating mistakes that are so often made when applying the language for the first time. Yet, there is a different approach through dynamic immersion language learning software that gives hope to foreign language enthusiasts.

The Dynamic Immersion Method

The Dynamic Immersion foreign language software program attempts to mimic the setting of one's childhood. Of course the idea behind this is that when immersed in an environment consisting of familiar situations, people, places and things, no matter the language, one can make the connection between images and verbal realizations. The system uses phonetics or verbalization that encourages logic and memory, like a child learning by association and hearing. All of this is mastered without the use of English translations or explanations. Nowadays, with the development of technologies, there are amazing virtual reality software solutions for education and training, which provide you with outstanding experience and perception.

Courses are divided into several levels, beginning with the most basic lessons where the student is presented with an image of a person, place or object and associates the images with the given name. As the student progresses from one level to the next, they are able to phonetically form phrases in order to provide directions, express opinions or ask questions.

Benefits of Dynamic Immersion

Some language learning programs that incorporate Dynamic Immersion into their software offer a variety of languages the student can choose from. Some of it's most popular languages include Spanish, French, Korean, Hebrew, Arabic and Russian. With the use of colorful pictures to captivate the student, Dynamic Immersion software creates a fun environment for learning. The lessons are shuffled to promote memory and logic and passages are repeated after a native speaker, recreating correlations between the image and the word.

The key elements that this language learning method presents to it's apt students are listening, reading, speaking and writing. The student develops reading and writing skills through a series of lessons where they learn the correlations between letter pronunciation, word formation and their respective images. With the interactive keyboard and the on-screen typing enabled feature, students are able to type their responses, thus developing writing skills in that respective language.

Students also learn listening skills coupled with instinct when focusing on word pronunciation spoken by a native speaker. When presented with several pictures, they are able to select the most appropriate response relative to the spoken word or phrase. With the built-in speech recognition capabilities, students can learn how to accurately pronounce the given words or phrases.

Language Learning Software verses Classroom

The language skills that students achieve at the end of the program are pretty much basic and while they will have learned enough to form opinions, explain directions and ask questions, they still are ill-prepared to engage in lengthy conversations with those of the respective native tongue. A structured classroom setting where students have complete access to the teacher's assistance could supplement the software program.

The speech recognition tool also has flaws as it does not provide 100% accuracy with reference to word pronunciation, but it would benefit beginning students to an extent. However, it is not a perfect substitute for the classroom. College courses in the language of choice would provide a more extensive lesson in language learning. With the amount of money students spend on the software program, they can receive more in-depth drills from basic to advanced lessons in the classroom.

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How Proficiency in Multiple Languages Increases Adaptability

Proficiency in multiple languages broadens the intellect, increases chances at broad spectrum communication,and promotes multiculturalism.

Language is the expression of human communication through which knowledge, belief, and behavior can be experienced, explained, and shared. This sharing is based on systematic, conventionally used signs, sounds, gestures, or marks that convey understood meanings within a group or community

List of the Most Widely Spoken Languages in the World

The world is full of diversity; diversity in people, plants, animals.... and languages. The Cambridge Encyclop-edia of Language says that estimates of total living languages in the world vary from 3,000 to 10,000. Below is a list of the most widely spoken languages in the world (listed in order of the number of native speakers)

  • Mandarin Chinese (836 million)
  • Hindi (333 million)
  • Spanish (332 million)
  • English (322 million)
  • Bengali (189 million)
  • Arabic (186 million)
  • Russian (170 million)
  • Portuguese (170 million)
  • Japanese (125 million)
  • German (98 million)
  • French (72 million)

The United Nations uses six official languages in its intergovernmental meetings and documents, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish (source); the Secretariat uses two working languages, English and French.

Reasons to Learn Other Languages

The obvious reason is that the world is now a “Global Village” with everything being interconnected. As the world becomes more globalized, the importance of learning at least a second language cannot be overemphasized. Today, borders dividing nations are becoming more and more insignificant. Firms and Institutions are going international and multinational every other day; people are leaving one end of the earth to study, visit or do business in another end of the earth. Knowledge of more than one widely spoken language will increase our flexibility and adaptability in today’s world.

Many people discover that as they learn another language; their first language (mother tongue) is improved.They notice that they start paying more attention to grammar, phonetics and other things that native speakers usually take for granted. Their desire to even expand their vocabulary in their native language increases, as another language is learned.

There is a very interesting phenomenon that could be observed as a foreign language is learned; that of gaining an insight into the culture and character of a people. In a sense, language can be considered as the verbal expression of culture. Language provides many of the categories that is used for expression of thoughts, so it is therefore safe to assume that the thinking of a people is influenced by the language which they use. Languages with limited words of endearment will probably mean an unromantic people; languages that give the possibility for much slang can imply a more laid back people; languages with many words that describe things in nature will imply a people with strong affinity to earth and environment; languages with many swear words could mean a people who’s strongest trait is not patience.

Famous Language Quotes

  • “Language shapes what we think and determines what we think about.” Benjamin Lee Whorf
  • “Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  • “Change your Language and you change your thoughts.” Stephen King
  • “Learn a new language and get a new soul.” Czech Proverb
  • “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” Ludwig Wittgenstein

Language School versus Self-study

It doesn't matter whether foreign languages are learned in formal settings like conventional schools, language schools, or if they are self tutored (it depends on self discipline).What is important is that foreign language instruction is valued because it is one of the best ways that can be used to know the world better, and to understand the people in it.

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