Spanish Learning Software

Everyday we read about different ways in learning languages. Recently, I ran into a story about how a research conducted by a language teacher will help revolutionize language learning.

Paul Sulzberger PhD, of Victoria University in New Zealand has conducted a ground-breaking research which may help change the way of learning and teaching languages. Dr Sulzberger’s research has found that the best way to learn languages is through repeated exposure to the sound patterns of the languages even though the learner doesn’t have a clue to what they mean.

It may sound “crazy” to some people but the research has revealed that language learning is possible just by listening to the language. He stated that “The ability to learn new words is directly related to how we have been exposed to the particular combinations of the sounds which make up the words.” A stated example is that when someone wants to learn Spanish, frequent listening to a Spanish language radio station on the internet can help the language learner to learn new words and hone the ability to pick up the language.

Existing language learning theories are being challenged by the research of Dr Sulzberger. The main hypothesis of his study indicated that by simply listening to the new language, the structures in the brain required to learn the words are automatically set up. Dr Sulzberger has also stated that babies learn their first language through a neural tissue which is required to learn and understand a new language; this is the same tissue which will develop when a language learner constantly listens to a new language.

Dr Sulzberger conducted the research after having spent seven years teaching the Russian language to New Zealand students and having observed the drop-out patterns of the students. A lot of students dropped out from the classes because they felt that they are not making progress in learning the language.

The Russian language teacher also did the research because he was interested in understanding what makes it difficult to learn foreign words when people who are learning languages constantly learn new ones in their native tongue. The answer lies on the way the brain develops the neural structures when a language learner learns a new combination of sounds.

In learning foreign languages, the language learner is faced with various sounds for which he or she has no neural representation. People who are trying to learn a foreign language may have few pre-existing neural structures that’s why learning the language for them seems difficult.

Dr Sulzberger searched for ways people could develop the particular neural structures and make the language learning process easier. The result of the research is simple; it is by the extensive exposure to the language which is made easier by new technology and globalization, which makes language learning easier. People can expose themselves to their target language through the internet and other media.

The researcher has also stated the people who are trying to learn a foreign language in their home country are at a disadvantage compared to those who travel abroad and become immersed in the sounds of the language and the culture.

He also said that, we all need to rethink about the way foreign languages are being taught. The language teachers should recognize the importance of extensive aural exposure to a language. Spending an extra hour on listening to a target language on an iPod or CD player can help compensate for just an hour in class.

Learning languages is a skill and it is not quite like learning a fact. In order to learn a language, the language learner must grow the right brain tissue and to do it is by listening to movies, songs, and what have you of the target language.

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