New Language Not Always
Headache - William Charland, Rocky Mountain News
It's a deceptively powerful, childlike
approach to education based on music and riddles and games. Eight
hours a day, my classmates and I scrambled around like kids at recess,
laughing and playing in Spanish...First, we'd learn a bit of vocabulary
- say, parts of the body. Then we'd be given a skit or a contest
to act out what we'd studied, the results were remarkable. For the
first time, I found myself learning new words and phrases in order
to communicate, not just to pass a test. It's a process of weaving
new information with all the facts and feelings of actual life,
very much as children learn...Americans are recognizing the value
of learning Spanish. And some of us are finding the process can
be fun.
Fast, Effective Ways To
Learn A LanguageOne-Week, 50 Hour Course Teaches Most How To Converse
- Jo Beth McDaniel,
Investor's Business Daily,
...Even if you hated language
classes, you may respond quickly to newer, more innovative approaches
to learning. No more memorizing verb tenses... Research shows that
variety - whether from games, ethnic music or interactive computer
programs - speeds learning and improves retention...At Expanded
Learning, students are involved in dramas where they must use their
new language to communicate. These and other memory echniques help
language settle in the long-term memory bank. Retention is important:
in traditional classroom settings, as much as 70% of material learned
may be forgotten within a 24-hour period. "It has to be fun or it's
not going to stick," said Expanded Learning owner Davalos.
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