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Steve's Language Learning Tips, Do we need the language classroom?

Do we need the language classroom?

First of all, I should say that I have my son and his family visiting from London, so I have two additional little grandchildren.

I have one son, Mark, who lives here and he has three kids and my son, Eric, who lives in London, has two kids and they're visiting, so it's pretty hectic. I've even got my brother from Toronto coming to visit next week. So we're going to be pretty busy here, but I did want to make a video because there's been an interesting sort of exchange on my YouTube channel. A person who calls himself Cheeky something or other commented on a video that I did quite a while ago where I talked about the future of the iPad and mobile devices when it comes to language learning.

I think they are phenomenal and I sort of compared them to the old clay tablet the Roman school children would carry around. Of course the iPad – and it doesn't have to be the iPad, any of these electronic tablets enable you to read. They enable you to look up words you don't know. You can store a tremendous amount of text and audio and even video there. You can communicate via Skype with native speakers. You can review flashcards. I mean there are so many things you can do on these mobile devices.

I use my iPad regularly.

On LingQ I prefer to create my links at the computer, but I don't read then. I go off and I can read in the comfort of sitting in my living room on my iPad. I can set my iPad up on my elliptical trainer. So I'm exercising and I have downloaded the audio which is running on my mp3 player. I could do it through the iPad, but I just don't. It's more convenient for me to have it going in the background. I'm jogging, I'm reading and with my finger I'm poking at words that I don't know as they pop up so I can keep up and I'm listening to the text. I do that for 25 minutes and it's a tremendous exercise of interacting with the language. I'm sure there will be more and more applications developed for iPhone, iPad or android or whatever, which to me is quite revolutionary. Someone came on and said that these iPads are a distraction and that, essentially, you have to have that face-to-face interaction between the teacher and the learner in order for learning to take place.

We've had quite a lively exchange and so I guess the question comes up, what is the future role of a classroom or a teacher insofar as language learning is concerned. I've often said that I believe massive input is almost a precondition for being able to learn grammar. That without this exposure to the language, the grammar explanations don't stick. I've said that it's very difficult and this is based on my experience as a learner and watching other people learn. It's very difficult to learn these rules, study a few words and try and put them together because all of these grammar concepts take a long time to sink in. It requires a lot of exposure and experience with the language before these explanations start to make sense and start to stick and, therefore, my preference is to focus on listening and reading, vocabulary accumulation so that I have a more solid base in comprehension so that I can understand the language. I don't worry about speaking for six months or for a year, depending on the language. I find that when I start to speak or if I have the need to speak, the bigger my vocabulary, the more familiar I am with the language, the better I understand what I hear, the better I do. So then what is the role of the classroom?

Well, the role of the classroom is not going to go away because most people aren't motivated enough to learn on their own. Most people believe they can only learn in a classroom, so the idea that there are all these resources available on the Internet is relatively new. I find that the explanations of grammar I can find all over the Internet, so I don't have to sit in the classroom and hope that the issue I have difficulty with is the one the teacher is going to focus on that day. I can zoom in on those issues that I'm interested in. Now, I want to backtrack and say that at LingQ I would say the best tutors are people who are professional teachers.

Teachers, whether it be Evgueny in St. Petersburg, whether it be Rinehart in Vienna. I'm not going to name everybody, but I deal with a lot of tutors. So that's the second issue, I need tutors. Once I have spent enough time with the language, be it six months or more, then I need to talk to tutors, I need the tutors to point out my mistakes, I need to sometimes ask them questions.

What also happens in the case of LingQ is you have tutors who create content about different issues of grammar and put them in our library so we can listen to them over and over again.

We can listen to them in the target language. Whether it be ’s content in German or Evgueny's in Russian, whomever, I can listen to it over and over again. So I'm listening and reading and also focusing on those grammar issues that I'm ready to focus on, that I want to focus on. So the role of the teacher remains important, first of all, as a stimulus.

If I know that I'm going to be talking to my tutor it kind of keeps me going. I want to show my tutor that I'm improving. The tutor is very often a source of encouragement, a source of stimulus, but it's not so much a matter of explaining things. That's the thing, the teacher as an explainer. I just don't see that as such an important role because the theoretical explanation is not going to do it. You have to see the patterns over and over again, refer over and over again perhaps to some grammar rules where the learner has the initiative.

So in my exchange, of course, with this person on the iPad and language learning or something like that, in fact, I might put a link to that particular video, he was on and on about how if you don't come to the classroom you can't learn. It's very difficult because there are five different future tenses. I mean, yeah, you can make the language sound as complicated as you want. I don't think anyone can absorb five future tenses at one sitting, but if a learner had enough exposure to the language bit by bit by reviewing certain grammar rules, either on their own or by having their writing or their conversational language corrected, they'll start to notice these things more and more. Many people tell me at LingQ that they have learned much more with us than they have in a more traditional classroom setting.

That's not to condemn the teacher. I think there are lots of excellent teachers, but in a classroom with 15 or 20 other students the teacher decides the agenda and I think the learner needs to decide the agenda and the learner needs to control their learning. The other thing people like to criticize me for is that I'm just out promoting and pushing this product I'm selling and stuff like that. Of course I'm promoting LingQ, but why did I create LingQ in the first place? Because I think it's helpful to language learning. Now, of course, we have a lot of costs at LingQ, so we're obviously interested in encouraging people to come and use it and the more people who come and use it, the more we can invest in making it better. That's no different than the commercial interest that a teacher or an ESL school has in promoting their form of language instruction services. It's the same. Ultimately, what matters the most is where the best return on investment for the language learner is.

In other words, is the language learner better off going to an ESL school? Say the person wants to learn English. Jump on a plane from Japan or Brazil, fly to Vancouver, enroll in an ESL school that's $1,200 a month, stay in a home stay, do all of these things, is that a good return on investment? Ultimately, that's what's going to matter and the market will decide that. I think that it's not ideal. I think a smaller number of instructional hours, a smaller number of hours of interaction, three hours a week. Five hours a week would be very heavy, in my opinion. One, two, three hours a week with a tutor either online or face to face and then some encouragement from the tutor, some explanation on how to learn and directing the learner to where they can find excellent resources. That's a better use of the teacher's time, better return on investment for the learner and it would enable teachers to reach many, many more people. In the case of Canada and immigrants, apparently we spend $3,000 per head per year on immigrant language training.

A recent study out of Toronto showed, at least amongst the Chinese-speaking immigrants who are the largest source country in Canada, that after seven years (a group of 3,000 of these immigrants were followed and were enrolled in language programs here) they made, essentially, no progress. No progress.

Sort of another group, the Slavic speakers, did make progress and the reason they made progress is because they were more likely to make friends with Canadians, interact more with Canadians and take a greater interest in the local culture.

In other words, what mattered the most was what they did outside the classroom not what they did inside the classroom.

That being the case, why spend $3,000 a year per immigrant or $1,200 a month for these ESL programs when there are more cost-effective ways you can utilize teacher resources.

After all, it's only a small percentage of immigrants that are helped through these language programs, many more are unable to get into these programs, so why wouldn't we devise a more efficient way to enable teachers to help learners or to encourage learners to learn on their own. I think in that regard the iPad, iPhone, other mobile devices, android, the Internet and all the resources that are on the Internet are revolutionary.

They have changed the paradigm and so to continue to insist that language instruction can only take place in the classroom as this Cheeky whatever is doing (he alternates between that and getting vulgar and insulting me) to me is crazy. I understand the guy. He wants to protect his job, that's fine, plus that's perhaps all he knows, but the reality is that there are so many other resources available today that didn't exist even 10 years ago let alone 50 years ago. So there you have it.

He's welcome to make a video and post it here as a response. Even though they are kind of a bit nasty, I haven't deleted any of his comments. Yeah, I think the free exchange of ideas. It's not, and I repeat this, it's not anti teacher. While there are some teachers that are protectionists of their position and closed minded, I know a lot of teachers who are looking for new resources, looking for ways to do their job better who want to help more people. Some of them are members of LingQ. Some of them are the best tutors we have.

I also recognize that in a public school environment a large number of students are not very motivated and, therefore, the teacher's job really is to push the curriculum at them and force them to take tests and hope that most of them pass. And, of course, if we look at the results in Canada, even where many do pass (say they're French) very few of them learn how to speak the language. So there is something fundamentally wrong with what we're doing in the way languages are taught in the school system and I think to, basically, dismiss the iPad and mobile devices as…

Do we need the language classroom? Brauchen wir das Sprachklassenzimmer? ¿Necesitamos el aula de idiomas? Avons-nous besoin de la classe de langue ? Abbiamo bisogno dell'aula di lingue? 語学教室は必要なのか? 어학 교실이 필요한가요? Czy potrzebujemy klasy językowej? Precisamos da sala de aula de línguas? Нужен ли нам языковой класс? Behöver vi språkklassrummet? Dil sınıfına ihtiyacımız var mı? Чи потрібен нам мовний клас? 我们需要语文教室吗? 我們需要語文教室嗎?

First of all, I should say that I have my son and his family visiting from London, so I have two additional little grandchildren. Преди всичко трябва да кажа, че синът ми и семейството му са на гости от Лондон, така че имам още двама малки внуци. En primer lugar, debo decir que tengo a mi hijo y su familia de visita desde Londres, por lo que tengo dos nietos más. Allereerst moet ik zeggen dat mijn zoon en zijn familie op bezoek komen vanuit Londen, dus ik heb nog twee kleine kleinkinderen. Antes de mais, devo dizer que tenho o meu filho e a sua família a visitar-me de Londres, pelo que tenho mais dois netos pequenos. 首先,我得说,我儿子一家从伦敦来访,所以我多了两个小孙子。

I have one son, Mark, who lives here and he has three kids and my son, Eric, who lives in London, has two kids and they’re visiting, so it’s pretty hectic. Имам един син, Марк, който живее тук и има три деца, а синът ми, Ерик, който живее в Лондон, има две деца и са на гости, така че е доста забързано. Tengo un hijo, Mark, que vive aquí y tiene tres hijos y mi hijo, Eric, que vive en Londres, tiene dos hijos y están de visita, por lo que es bastante agitado. Tenho um filho, Mark, que vive aqui e tem três filhos e o meu filho, Eric, que vive em Londres, tem dois filhos e está de visita, por isso é bastante agitado. Bir oğlum var, Mark, burada yaşıyor ve üç çocuğu var ve oğlum Eric, Londra'da yaşıyor, iki çocuğu var ve ziyarete geliyorlar, bu yüzden oldukça telaşlı. 我有一個兒子馬克,他住在這裡,他有三個孩子;我的兒子艾瑞克,他住在倫敦,有兩個孩子,他們來拜訪,所以非常忙碌。 I’ve even got my brother from Toronto coming to visit next week. Дори брат ми от Торонто ще ми дойде на гости следващата седмица. Até tenho o meu irmão de Toronto a visitar-me na próxima semana. 我甚至邀請了我多倫多來的兄弟下週來看我。 So we’re going to be pretty busy here, but I did want to make a video because there’s been an interesting sort of exchange on my YouTube channel. Така че ще бъдем доста заети тук, но исках да направя видеоклип, защото в канала ми в YouTube се получи интересен обмен на мнения. というわけでかなり忙しくなりますが、私のYouTubeチャンネルで面白いやり取りがあったので動画を作りたいと思いました。 所以我們在這裡會很忙,但我確實想製作一個視頻,因為我的 YouTube 頻道上有一個有趣的交流。 A person who calls himself Cheeky something or other commented on a video that I did quite a while ago where I talked about the future of the iPad and mobile devices when it comes to language learning. Човек, който се казва Cheeky нещо или друго, коментира видеоклип, който направих преди известно време, където говорих за бъдещето на iPad и мобилните устройства, когато става въпрос за изучаване на езици. Eine Person, die sich selbst Cheeky oder so nennt, hat ein Video kommentiert, das ich vor einiger Zeit gemacht habe und in dem ich über die Zukunft des iPads und mobiler Geräte im Hinblick auf das Sprachenlernen sprach. Una persona que se hace llamar Cheeky no sé qué comentó un video que hice hace bastante tiempo donde hablaba sobre el futuro del iPad y los dispositivos móviles en lo que se refiere al aprendizaje de idiomas. Cheeky と自称する人が、私がかなり前に作成したビデオにコメントしました。このビデオでは、語学学習に関して iPad とモバイル デバイスの将来について話しました。 Uma pessoa que se chama Cheeky de alguma coisa ou outra comentou em um vídeo que eu fiz há algum tempo atrás, onde falei sobre o futuro do iPad e dispositivos móveis quando se trata de aprendizado de idiomas. 一个自称为 "厚脸皮 "的人评论了我不久前录制的一段视频,我在视频中谈到了 iPad 和移动设备在语言学习方面的前景。

I think they are phenomenal and I sort of compared them to the old clay tablet the Roman school children would carry around. Мисля, че са феноменални, и ги сравних със старите глинени таблички, които децата от римското училище носеха със себе си. Creo que son fenomenales y los comparé con la vieja tablilla de arcilla que los niños de la escuela romana llevaban consigo. 驚異的だと思うし、ローマの小学生が持ち歩いていた昔の粘土板に例えたんだ。 Acho que são fenomenais e comparei-as com as velhas tábuas de barro que as crianças das escolas romanas traziam consigo. 我认为它们非常了不起,我将它们与罗马学童随身携带的旧粘土板进行了比较。 我觉得它们非常了不起,我把它们比作古罗马学生随身携带的泥板。 Of course the iPad – and it doesn’t have to be the iPad, any of these electronic tablets enable you to read. Por supuesto, el iPad, y no tiene por qué ser el iPad, cualquiera de estas tabletas electrónicas le permite leer. 当然,iPad--也不一定非得是 iPad,任何这些电子平板电脑都能让你进行阅读。 They enable you to look up words you don’t know. Le permiten buscar palabras que no conoce. Permitem-lhe consultar palavras que não conhece. You can store a tremendous amount of text and audio and even video there. Sie können dort eine enorme Menge an Text, Audio und sogar Video speichern. 您可以在那裡存儲大量文字和音訊甚至視訊。 You can communicate via Skype with native speakers. 您可以透過 Skype 與母語人士交流。 You can review flashcards. 您可以查看抽認卡。 I mean there are so many things you can do on these mobile devices.

I use my iPad regularly. 我經常使用 iPad。

On LingQ I prefer to create my links at the computer, but I don’t read then. No LingQ, prefiro criar os meus links no computador, mas não leio nessa altura. I go off and I can read in the comfort of sitting in my living room on my iPad. Излизам и мога да чета на iPad в уютната си всекидневна. 我下課後,就可以坐在客廳裡用 iPad 舒適地閱讀。 I can set my iPad up on my elliptical trainer. Мога да настроя iPad на елиптичния си тренажор. Ik kan mijn iPad instellen op mijn elliptische trainer. 我可以在椭圆机上安装 iPad。 So I’m exercising and I have downloaded the audio which is running on my mp3 player. Estou a fazer exercício e descarreguei o áudio que está a correr no meu leitor de mp3. 我正在锻炼身体,并下载了音频,在我的 MP3 播放器上播放。 I could do it through the iPad, but I just don’t. Мога да го направя чрез iPad, но не го правя. Podia fazê-lo através do iPad, mas não o faço. 我可以通过 iPad 来做,但我不这么做。 It’s more convenient for me to have it going in the background. За мен е по-удобно да го ползвам във фонов режим. È più comodo per me farlo andare in background. 让它在后台运行对我来说更方便。 I’m jogging, I’m reading and with my finger I’m poking at words that I don’t know as they pop up so I can keep up and I’m listening to the text. Бягам, чета и с пръст отбелязвам думите, които не знам, когато се появят, за да мога да се справям с тях, и слушам текста. Estou a fazer jogging, estou a ler e com o meu dedo estou a apontar as palavras que não conheço à medida que aparecem para poder acompanhar e estou a ouvir o texto. 我一边慢跑,一边阅读,并用手指戳那些我不认识的单词,这样我就能跟上节奏,同时我也在听课文。 I do that for 25 minutes and it’s a tremendous exercise of interacting with the language. I’m sure there will be more and more applications developed for iPhone, iPad or android or whatever, which to me is quite revolutionary. Сигурен съм, че ще има все повече и повече приложения, разработени за iPhone, iPad, Android или каквото и да е друго, което за мен е доста революционно. 我相信会有越来越多的应用程序为 iPhone、iPad 或安卓系统或其他系统而开发,这对我来说是相当具有革命性的。 Someone came on and said that these iPads are a distraction and that, essentially, you have to have that face-to-face interaction between the teacher and the learner in order for learning to take place. Някой се включи и каза, че тези iPad-и отвличат вниманието и че за да се осъществи обучението, е необходимо да има взаимодействие лице в лице между учителя и ученика. Někdo se ozval a řekl, že iPady odvádějí pozornost a že pro učení je v podstatě nutná interakce tváří v tvář mezi učitelem a žákem. Alguém disse que estes iPads são uma distração e que, essencialmente, é preciso haver uma interação cara a cara entre o professor e o aluno para que a aprendizagem tenha lugar. 有人上前说,这些iPad令人分心,从本质上讲,您必须在老师和学习者之间进行面对面的互动才能进行学习。 有人发言说,这些 iPad 会让人分心,从根本上说,你必须在教师和学生之间进行面对面的互动,这样才能进行学习。

We’ve had quite a lively exchange and so I guess the question comes up, what is the future role of a classroom or a teacher insofar as language learning is concerned. لقد أجرينا تبادلاً حيويًا للغاية ولذا أعتقد أن السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه هو، ما هو الدور المستقبلي للفصل الدراسي أو المعلم فيما يتعلق بتعلم اللغة. Имахме доста оживен обмен на мнения и затова предполагам, че възниква въпросът каква е бъдещата роля на класната стая или на учителя по отношение на изучаването на езици. Proběhla docela živá výměna názorů, a tak se asi nabízí otázka, jaká je budoucí role třídy nebo učitele, pokud jde o výuku jazyků. Abbiamo avuto uno scambio piuttosto vivace e quindi credo che la domanda venga sollevata, qual è il ruolo futuro di un'aula o di un insegnante nella misura in cui l'apprendimento delle lingue è interessato. У нас був досить жвавий обмін думками, і тому, я думаю, виникає питання, яка майбутня роль класу чи вчителя щодо вивчення мови. 我们进行了相当热烈的交流,所以我想问题来了,就语言学习而言,课堂或教师的未来角色是什么? I’ve often said that I believe massive input is almost a precondition for being able to learn grammar. Често съм казвал, че вярвам, че масивното въвеждане на информация е почти задължително условие за научаване на граматика. Často jsem říkal, že věřím, že masivní vstupní informace jsou téměř nezbytnou podmínkou pro to, abychom se mohli naučit gramatiku. Já disse muitas vezes que acredito que o input massivo é quase uma pré-condição para se poder aprender gramática. That without this exposure to the language, the grammar explanations don’t stick. Че без този контакт с езика граматическите обяснения не се затвърждават. Que sem esta exposição à língua, as explicações gramaticais não se fixam. I’ve said that it’s very difficult and this is based on my experience as a learner and watching other people learn. 我说过这很难,这是我作为学习者和观察其他人学习的经验之谈。 It’s very difficult to learn these rules, study a few words and try and put them together because all of these grammar concepts take a long time to sink in. Je velmi obtížné naučit se tato pravidla, nastudovat si několik slovíček a pokusit se je spojit dohromady, protože všechny tyto gramatické pojmy si člověk dlouho osvojuje. É muito difícil aprender essas regras, estudar algumas palavras e tentar reuni-las, porque todos esses conceitos gramaticais levam muito tempo para serem absorvidos. 学习这些规则、研究几个单词并尝试将它们组合在一起是非常困难的,因为所有这些语法概念都需要很长时间的沉淀。 It requires a lot of exposure and experience with the language before these explanations start to make sense and start to stick and, therefore, my preference is to focus on listening and reading, vocabulary accumulation so that I have a more solid base in comprehension so that I can understand the language. 这需要大量的语言接触和经验,然后这些解释才开始有意义并开始深入人心,因此,我更倾向于把重点放在听力和阅读、词汇积累上,这样我就有了更坚实的理解基础,从而能够理解语言。 I don’t worry about speaking for six months or for a year, depending on the language. Não me preocupo em falar durante seis meses ou durante um ano, dependendo da língua. 我不担心会说六个月或一年,这取决于语言。 I find that when I start to speak or if I have the need to speak, the bigger my vocabulary, the more familiar I am with the language, the better I understand what I hear, the better I do. Установих, че когато започвам да говоря или когато ми се налага да говоря, колкото по-голям е речникът ми, колкото по-добре познавам езика, колкото по-добре разбирам това, което чувам, толкова по-добре се справям. Acho que quando começo a falar ou quando tenho necessidade de falar, quanto maior for o meu vocabulário, quanto mais familiarizado estiver com a língua, quanto melhor compreender o que ouço, melhor me saio. 我发现,当我开始说话或有必要说话时,我的词汇量越大,对语言越熟悉,我就越能理解我所听到的,我就做得越好。 So then what is the role of the classroom?

Well, the role of the classroom is not going to go away because most people aren’t motivated enough to learn on their own. Bueno, el papel del salón de clases no va a desaparecer porque la mayoría de las personas no están lo suficientemente motivadas para aprender por su cuenta. Bem, o papel da sala de aula não vai desaparecer porque a maioria das pessoas não está suficientemente motivada para aprender por si própria. 课堂的作用不会消失,因为大多数人都没有足够的自学动力。 Most people believe they can only learn in a classroom, so the idea that there are all these resources available on the Internet is relatively new. A maioria das pessoas acredita que só pode aprender numa sala de aula, pelo que a ideia de que existem todos estes recursos disponíveis na Internet é relativamente nova. 大多数人认为,他们只能在课堂上学习,因此,在互联网上提供所有这些资源的想法相对较新。 I find that the explanations of grammar I can find all over the Internet, so I don’t have to sit in the classroom and hope that the issue I have difficulty with is the one the teacher is going to focus on that day. Смятам, че обясненията на граматиката мога да намеря навсякъде в интернет, така че не ми се налага да седя в класната стая и да се надявам, че въпросът, с който се затруднявам, е този, върху който учителят ще се съсредоточи този ден. Acho que as explicações de gramática posso encontrar em toda a Internet, por isso não tenho de me sentar na sala de aula e esperar que a questão em que tenho dificuldade seja aquela em que o professor se vai concentrar nesse dia. I can zoom in on those issues that I’m interested in. Мога да се спра на въпросите, които ме интересуват. Ich kann die Themen, die mich interessieren, vergrößern. Posso fazer zoom sobre as questões que me interessam. 我可以放大那些我感兴趣的问题。 Now, I want to backtrack and say that at LingQ I would say the best tutors are people who are professional teachers. Сега искам да се върна назад и да кажа, че в LingQ бих казала, че най-добрите преподаватели са хора, които са професионални учители. Agora, quero voltar atrás e dizer que no LingQ eu diria que os melhores tutores são pessoas que são professores profissionais. 现在,我想反过来说,在 LingQ,我认为最好的辅导教师都是专业教师。

Teachers, whether it be Evgueny in St. Maestros, ya sea Evgueny en St. 教师,无论是在圣彼得堡的埃夫盖尼 Petersburg, whether it be Rinehart in Vienna. 彼得堡,还是维也纳的莱因哈特。 I’m not going to name everybody, but I deal with a lot of tutors. Няма да изброявам всички, но имам работа с много наставници. Não vou nomear toda a gente, mas lido com muitos explicadores. 我不会说出每个人的名字,但我和很多家教打过交道。 So that’s the second issue, I need tutors. É esta a segunda questão: preciso de tutores. 这就是第二个问题,我需要导师。 Once I have spent enough time with the language, be it six months or more, then I need to talk to tutors, I need the tutors to point out my mistakes, I need to sometimes ask them questions. Una vez que he pasado suficiente tiempo con el idioma, ya sea seis meses o más, necesito hablar con los tutores, necesito que los tutores señalen mis errores, necesito hacerles preguntas a veces. Depois de ter passado tempo suficiente com a língua, seja seis meses ou mais, preciso de falar com tutores, preciso que os tutores apontem os meus erros, preciso por vezes de lhes fazer perguntas.

What also happens in the case of LingQ is you have tutors who create content about different issues of grammar and put them in our library so we can listen to them over and over again. O que também acontece no caso do LingQ é que há tutores que criam conteúdos sobre diferentes questões de gramática e colocam-nos na nossa biblioteca para que os possamos ouvir vezes sem conta.

We can listen to them in the target language. Podemos ouvi-los na língua de chegada. Whether it be ________’s content in German or Evgueny’s in Russian, whomever, I can listen to it over and over again. Независимо дали става дума за съдържанието на немски език или за това на руски език на Евгени, мога да го слушам отново и отново. Ya sea el contenido de 's en alemán o el de Evgueny en ruso, cualquiera que sea, puedo escucharlo una y otra vez. So I’m listening and reading and also focusing on those grammar issues that I’m ready to focus on, that I want to focus on. Así que escucho y leo y también me enfoco en esos problemas de gramática en los que estoy listo para enfocarme, en los que quiero enfocarme. Por isso, estou a ouvir e a ler e também a concentrar-me nas questões gramaticais em que estou pronto para me concentrar, em que me quero concentrar. So the role of the teacher remains important, first of all, as a stimulus. Por lo tanto, el papel del maestro sigue siendo importante, en primer lugar, como estímulo.

If I know that I’m going to be talking to my tutor it kind of keeps me going. Ако знам, че ще разговарям с учителя си, това ме кара да продължа. Se sei que vou falar com o meu tutor, isso ajuda-me a continuar. I want to show my tutor that I’m improving. Искам да покажа на учителя си, че се подобрявам. The tutor is very often a source of encouragement, a source of stimulus, but it’s not so much a matter of explaining things. O tutor é muitas vezes uma fonte de encorajamento, uma fonte de estímulo, mas não é tanto uma questão de explicar as coisas. That’s the thing, the teacher as an explainer. Това е най-важното - учителят като обяснител. 这就是问题所在,教师是讲解者。 I just don’t see that as such an important role because the theoretical explanation is not going to do it. Só não vejo isso como um papel tão importante porque a explicação teórica não o vai fazer. 我只是不认为这是一个如此重要的角色,因为理论解释是做不到的。 You have to see the patterns over and over again, refer over and over again perhaps to some grammar rules where the learner has the initiative. Трябва да виждате моделите отново и отново, да препращате отново и отново може би към някои граматически правила, когато ученикът има инициативата. Man muss sich die Muster immer wieder vor Augen führen, vielleicht immer wieder auf einige Grammatikregeln verweisen, bei denen der Lernende die Initiative hat. É preciso ver os padrões uma e outra vez, referir uma e outra vez, talvez, a algumas regras gramaticais em que o aluno tem a iniciativa. 您必须一遍又一遍地查看这些模式,一遍又一遍地参考一些学习者具有主动性的语法规则。 你必须一遍又一遍地看这些模式,一遍又一遍地参考一些语法规则,学习者才有主动权。

So in my exchange, of course, with this person on the iPad and language learning or something like that, in fact, I might put a link to that particular video, he was on and on about how if you don’t come to the classroom you can’t learn. Por isso, na minha troca de impressões com esta pessoa sobre o iPad e a aprendizagem de línguas ou algo do género, na verdade, posso colocar um link para esse vídeo em particular, ele estava sempre a dizer que se não formos à sala de aula não podemos aprender. 当然,在我和这个人就 iPad 和语言学习之类的问题进行的交流中,事实上,我可能会把那个视频的链接放上去,他一直在说,如果你不去课堂,你就学不到东西。 It’s very difficult because there are five different future tenses. É muito difícil porque há cinco tempos futuros diferentes. 这很难,因为有五种不同的将来时态。 I mean, yeah, you can make the language sound as complicated as you want. Искам да кажа, да, можете да направите езика толкова сложен, колкото искате. Quero dizer, sim, podes fazer com que a língua pareça tão complicada quanto quiseres. 我的意思是,是的,你可以把语言说得越复杂越好。 I don’t think anyone can absorb five future tenses at one sitting, but if a learner had enough exposure to the language bit by bit by reviewing certain grammar rules, either on their own or by having their writing or their conversational language corrected, they’ll start to notice these things more and more. Не мисля, че някой може да усвои пет бъдещи времена наведнъж, но ако ученикът е имал достатъчно време да се запознае с езика малко по малко, като преглежда определени граматически правила, или самостоятелно, или като коригира писмените си работи или разговорния си език, той ще започне да забелязва тези неща все повече и повече. Não creio que alguém consiga absorver cinco tempos futuros de uma só vez, mas se um aprendente tiver sido suficientemente exposto à língua, pouco a pouco, revendo certas regras gramaticais, quer por si próprio, quer através da correção da sua escrita ou da sua linguagem de conversação, começará a aperceber-se cada vez mais destas coisas. 我不认为任何人都能一口气掌握五种将来时态,但如果学习者有足够的时间通过复习某些语法规则来一点一点地接触语言,无论是自己复习还是让别人纠正他们的写作或会话,他们就会开始越来越注意到这些东西。 Many people tell me at LingQ that they have learned much more with us than they have in a more traditional classroom setting. Много хора в LingQ ми казват, че при нас са научили много повече, отколкото в традиционна класна стая.

That’s not to condemn the teacher. I think there are lots of excellent teachers, but in a classroom with 15 or 20 other students the teacher decides the agenda and I think the learner needs to decide the agenda and the learner needs to control their learning. 我认为有很多优秀的教师,但在一个有 15 或 20 名其他学生的教室里,教师决定议程,而我认为学习者需要决定议程,学习者需要控制自己的学习。 The other thing people like to criticize me for is that I’m just out promoting and pushing this product I’m selling and stuff like that. L'altra cosa che la gente mi piace criticare è che sono appena uscito a promuovere e spingere questo prodotto che sto vendendo e cose del genere. Het andere waar mensen me graag om bekritiseren, is dat ik gewoon bezig ben met het promoten en pushen van dit product dat ik verkoop en dat soort dingen. Of course I’m promoting LingQ, but why did I create LingQ in the first place? Разбира се, че популяризирам LingQ, но защо изобщо създадох LingQ? É claro que estou a promover o LingQ, mas porque é que criei o LingQ em primeiro lugar? Because I think it’s helpful to language learning. Now, of course, we have a lot of costs at LingQ, so we’re obviously interested in encouraging people to come and use it and the more people who come and use it, the more we can invest in making it better. That’s no different than the commercial interest that a teacher or an ESL school has in promoting their form of language instruction services. Eso no es diferente al interés comercial que tiene un maestro o una escuela de ESL en promover su forma de servicios de instrucción de idiomas. Isso não é diferente do interesse comercial que um professor ou uma escola de ESL tem em promover a sua forma de serviços de ensino de línguas. It’s the same. É a mesma coisa. Ultimately, what matters the most is where the best return on investment for the language learner is. В крайна сметка най-важното е къде е най-добрата възвръщаемост на инвестицията за изучаващия език. Em última análise, o que mais importa é onde se encontra o melhor retorno do investimento para o aprendente de línguas. 归根结底,最重要的是语言学习者的最佳投资回报。

In other words, is the language learner better off going to an ESL school? С други думи, по-добре ли е изучаващият езика да отиде в училище за ранно изучаване на чужди езици? En otras palabras, ¿es mejor para el estudiante de idiomas ir a una escuela de ESL? Por outras palavras, será melhor para o aprendente de línguas frequentar uma escola de ESL? 换句话说,语言学习者去 ESL 学校是否更好? Say the person wants to learn English. Digamos que la persona quiere aprender inglés. Jump on a plane from Japan or Brazil, fly to Vancouver, enroll in an ESL school that’s $1,200 a month, stay in a home stay, do all of these things, is that a good return on investment? Да се качите на самолет от Япония или Бразилия, да летите до Ванкувър, да се запишете в училище за изучаване на чужди езици, което струва 1200 долара на месец, да се настаните в дом, да направите всички тези неща, това добра възвръщаемост на инвестицията ли е? Súbete a un avión desde Japón o Brasil, vuela a Vancouver, inscríbete en una escuela de ESL que cuesta $1200 al mes, quédate en una casa, haz todas estas cosas, ¿es eso un buen retorno de la inversión? Apanhar um avião do Japão ou do Brasil, voar para Vancouver, inscrever-se numa escola de ESL que custa 1200 dólares por mês, ficar numa casa de acolhimento, fazer todas estas coisas, será um bom retorno do investimento? 从日本或巴西跳上飞机,飞到温哥华,进入每月 1200 美元的 ESL 学校,住在家庭旅馆里,做所有这些事情,这样的投资回报率高吗? Ultimately, that’s what’s going to matter and the market will decide that. В крайна сметка това ще има значение и пазарът ще реши това. En última instancia, eso es lo que va a importar y el mercado lo decidirá. Daar gaat het uiteindelijk om en de markt zal dat beslissen. Em última análise, é isso que vai interessar e é o mercado que o vai decidir. 最终,这才是关键,市场将决定这一点。 I think that it’s not ideal. Creo que no es lo ideal. 我认为这并不理想。 I think a smaller number of instructional hours, a smaller number of hours of interaction, three hours a week. Мисля, че е необходим по-малък брой часове за обучение, по-малък брой часове за взаимодействие - три часа седмично. Pienso en una menor cantidad de horas de instrucción, una menor cantidad de horas de interacción, tres horas a la semana. 授業時間数が少なく、交流時間数が少なく、週に 3 時間だと思います。 Penso que um número menor de horas de instrução, um número menor de horas de interação, três horas por semana. Five hours a week would be very heavy, in my opinion. Cinco horas a la semana sería muy pesado, en mi opinión. 私の意見では、週に5時間は非常に重いでしょう。 Cinco horas por semana seriam muito pesadas, na minha opinião. 我认为,每周五个小时会非常繁重。 One, two, three hours a week with a tutor either online or face to face and then some encouragement from the tutor, some explanation on how to learn and directing the learner to where they can find excellent resources. Един, два, три часа седмично с преподавател онлайн или лице в лице, след което преподавателят дава известно насърчение, обяснява как да се учи и насочва учащия към места, където може да намери отлични ресурси. Una, dos, tres horas a la semana con un tutor, ya sea en línea o cara a cara, y luego un poco de aliento por parte del tutor, alguna explicación sobre cómo aprender y dirigir al alumno a dónde puede encontrar excelentes recursos. Uma, duas, três horas por semana com um tutor, seja em linha ou presencialmente, e depois algum encorajamento por parte do tutor, algumas explicações sobre como aprender e a indicação ao aluno de onde pode encontrar excelentes recursos. That’s a better use of the teacher’s time, better return on investment for the learner and it would enable teachers to reach many, many more people. Това е по-добро използване на времето на учителя, по-добра възвръщаемост на инвестицията за учащия и ще позволи на учителите да достигнат до много, много повече хора. É uma melhor utilização do tempo do professor, um melhor retorno do investimento para o aluno e permitiria aos professores chegar a muito, muito mais pessoas. In the case of Canada and immigrants, apparently we spend $3,000 per head per year on immigrant language training. Що се отнася до Канада и имигрантите, очевидно харчим по 3000 долара на глава годишно за езиково обучение на имигранти. No caso do Canadá e dos imigrantes, aparentemente gastamos 3.000 dólares por habitante e por ano na formação linguística dos imigrantes. 就加拿大和移民而言,显然我们每年在移民语言培训上每人花费 3000 美元。

A recent study out of Toronto showed, at least amongst the Chinese-speaking immigrants who are the largest source country in Canada, that after seven years (a group of 3,000 of these immigrants were followed and were enrolled in language programs here) they made, essentially, no progress. Неотдавнашно проучване, проведено в Торонто, показа, че поне сред китайскоезичните имигранти, които са най-многобройната страна-източник в Канада, след седем години (група от 3000 имигранти беше проследена и записана в езикови програми тук) те не са постигнали никакъв напредък. Um estudo recente realizado em Toronto mostrou que, pelo menos entre os imigrantes de língua chinesa, que são o maior país de origem do Canadá, após sete anos (um grupo de 3000 destes imigrantes foi seguido e matriculado em programas linguísticos no Canadá), não fizeram, essencialmente, qualquer progresso. No progress.

Sort of another group, the Slavic speakers, did make progress and the reason they made progress is because they were more likely to make friends with Canadians, interact more with Canadians and take a greater interest in the local culture. Друга група, славяноговорящите, отбеляза напредък и причината за това е, че те са по-склонни да се сприятеляват с канадци, да общуват повече с тях и да проявяват по-голям интерес към местната култура. Una especie de otro grupo, los hablantes de eslavo, progresaron y la razón por la que progresaron es porque tenían más probabilidades de hacerse amigos de los canadienses, interactuar más con los canadienses y tener un mayor interés en la cultura local. Um outro grupo, o dos falantes de eslavo, fez progressos e a razão pela qual fez progressos é porque era mais provável que fizesse amizade com os canadianos, interagisse mais com os canadianos e se interessasse mais pela cultura local.

In other words, what mattered the most was what they did outside the classroom not what they did inside the classroom. С други думи, най-важното е какво правят извън класната стая, а не какво правят в нея. 换句话说,最重要的是他们在课外做了什么,而不是在课内做了什么。

That being the case, why spend $3,000 a year per immigrant or $1,200 a month for these ESL programs when there are more cost-effective ways you can utilize teacher resources. При това положение защо да харчите по 3000 долара годишно за имигрант или по 1200 долара месечно за тези програми за ОНЗ, когато има по-рентабилни начини да използвате ресурсите на учителите. Warum also 3.000 US-Dollar pro Jahr pro Einwanderer oder 1.200 US-Dollar pro Monat für diese ESL-Programme ausgeben, wenn es kostengünstigere Möglichkeiten gibt, Lehrerressourcen zu nutzen? Assim sendo, porquê gastar $3.000 por ano por imigrante ou $1.200 por mês para estes programas de ESL quando existem formas mais económicas de utilizar os recursos dos professores.

After all, it’s only a small percentage of immigrants that are helped through these language programs, many more are unable to get into these programs, so why wouldn’t we devise a more efficient way to enable teachers to help learners or to encourage learners to learn on their own. В края на краищата само малък процент от имигрантите получават помощ чрез тези езикови програми, а много повече не могат да се включат в тях, така че защо да не разработим по-ефективен начин, който да даде възможност на учителите да помагат на учащите или да ги насърчават да учат сами. 結局のところ、これらの語学プログラムを通じて助けられるのは移民のごく一部であり、さらに多くの人はこれらのプログラムに参加できません。そのため、教師が学習者を支援したり、学習者に学習を奨励したりできるようにするためのより効率的な方法を考案しないでください。自分で学ぶ。 Afinal de contas, é apenas uma pequena percentagem de imigrantes que são ajudados através destes programas de línguas, muitos mais não conseguem entrar nestes programas, por isso, porque é que não havemos de conceber uma forma mais eficiente de permitir que os professores ajudem os alunos ou de encorajar os alunos a aprenderem sozinhos. I think in that regard the iPad, iPhone, other mobile devices, android, the Internet and all the resources that are on the Internet are revolutionary. Мисля, че в това отношение iPad, iPhone, други мобилни устройства, Android, интернет и всички ресурси, които са в интернет, са революционни. Myslím, že iPad, iPhone, další mobilní zařízení, android, internet a všechny zdroje, které jsou na internetu, jsou v tomto ohledu revoluční.

They have changed the paradigm and so to continue to insist that language instruction can only take place in the classroom as this Cheeky whatever is doing (he alternates between that and getting vulgar and insulting me) to me is crazy. Те са променили парадигмата и затова да продължаваме да настояваме, че езиковото обучение може да се провежда само в класната стая, както прави този наглец (той редува това с вулгарност и обиди към мен), е безумно. Změnili paradigma, a tak nadále trvat na tom, že výuka jazyků může probíhat pouze ve třídě, jak to dělá tenhle drzoun (střídá to s vulgaritami a urážkami), je šílené. Ze hebben het paradigma veranderd en dus blijven volhouden dat taalonderwijs alleen in de klas kan plaatsvinden, omdat dit brutale wat er ook gebeurt (hij wisselt dat af met vulgair worden en me beledigen) voor mij gek is. Eles mudaram o paradigma e, por isso, continuar a insistir que o ensino da língua só pode ter lugar na sala de aula, como este atrevido qualquer coisa está a fazer (ele alterna entre isso e ser vulgar e insultar-me) comigo, é uma loucura. 他们改变了范式,因此继续坚持说语言教学只能在教室里进行,因为这个厚脸皮的人对我来说是件疯狂的事(他在那之间交替,变得粗俗和侮辱我)。 他们已经改变了范式,因此,继续坚持语言教学只能在课堂上进行,就像这个 "厚脸皮 "对我所做的那样(他时而这样,时而粗俗地侮辱我),简直是疯了。 I understand the guy. He wants to protect his job, that’s fine, plus that’s perhaps all he knows, but the reality is that there are so many other resources available today that didn’t exist even 10 years ago let alone 50 years ago. Той иска да защити работата си, това е добре, а и може би е всичко, което знае, но реалността е, че днес има толкова много други ресурси, които не са съществували дори преди 10, да не говорим за преди 50 години. Chce si chránit svou práci, to je v pořádku, a navíc je to možná jediné, co zná, ale ve skutečnosti je dnes k dispozici tolik jiných zdrojů, které neexistovaly ani před deseti, natož před padesáti lety. 他想保护自己的工作,这很好,而且这也许是他所知道的全部,但现实情况是,今天有如此多的其他资源,甚至 10 年前都不存在,更不用说 50 年前了。 So there you have it. Tak tady to máte.

He’s welcome to make a video and post it here as a response. Ele pode fazer um vídeo e publicá-lo aqui como resposta. Even though they are kind of a bit nasty, I haven’t deleted any of his comments. Въпреки че са малко неприятни, не съм изтрила нито един от коментарите му. I když jsou trochu hnusné, žádný z jeho komentářů jsem nesmazal. A pesar de que son un poco desagradables, no he eliminado ninguno de sus comentarios. Apesar de serem um pouco desagradáveis, não apaguei nenhum dos seus comentários. Yeah, I think the free exchange of ideas. Sim, acho que a livre troca de ideias. It’s not, and I repeat this, it’s not anti teacher. Não é, e repito-o, não é anti-professor. While there are some teachers that are protectionists of their position and closed minded, I know a lot of teachers who are looking for new resources, looking for ways to do their job better who want to help more people. Въпреки че има учители, които защитават позицията си и са затворени в себе си, познавам много учители, които търсят нови ресурси, търсят начини да вършат работата си по-добре и искат да помогнат на повече хора. 虽然有些教师对自己的立场持保护主义态度,思想封闭,但我知道很多教师都在寻找新的资源,寻找更好的工作方法,希望帮助更多的人。 Some of them are members of LingQ. 其中一些是 LingQ 的成员。 Some of them are the best tutors we have. 他们中的一些人是我们最好的导师。

I also recognize that in a public school environment a large number of students are not very motivated and, therefore, the teacher’s job really is to push the curriculum at them and force them to take tests and hope that most of them pass. Също така осъзнавам, че в държавните училища голяма част от учениците не са много мотивирани и затова работата на учителя наистина се състои в това да им натрапва учебната програма, да ги принуждава да се явяват на тестове и да се надява, че повечето от тях ще издържат. Uznávám také, že ve státní škole je velké množství studentů málo motivovaných, a proto je úkolem učitele opravdu vnutit jim učivo, donutit je psát testy a doufat, že většina z nich projde. 我也认识到,在公立学校环境中,很多学生的学习积极性并不高,因此,教师的工作实际上就是向他们灌输课程,强迫他们参加考试,并希望他们中的大多数人都能通过考试。 And, of course, if we look at the results in Canada, even where many do pass (say they’re French) very few of them learn how to speak the language. И, разбира се, ако погледнем резултатите в Канада, дори и там, където мнозина преминават (казват, че са французи), много малко от тях се научават да говорят езика. A samozřejmě, pokud se podíváme na výsledky v Kanadě, i tam, kde mnozí projdou (řekněme, že jsou Francouzi), se jen velmi málo z nich naučí mluvit tímto jazykem. E, claro, se olharmos para os resultados no Canadá, mesmo quando muitos passam (dizem que são franceses), muito poucos aprendem a falar a língua. 当然,如果我们看看加拿大的结果,即使很多人通过了考试(说他们是法国人),也很少有人学会说法语。 So there is something fundamentally wrong with what we’re doing in the way languages are taught in the school system and I think to, basically, dismiss the iPad and mobile devices as… Така че има нещо фундаментално сбъркано в начина, по който се преподават езици в училищната система, и мисля, че да се отхвърлят iPad и мобилните устройства като... V tom, co děláme ve způsobu výuky jazyků ve školách, je tedy něco zásadně špatně a myslím, že v podstatě odmítat iPad a mobilní zařízení jako... 因此,我们在学校系统中进行语言教学的方式从根本上是有问题的,我认为从根本上将iPad和移动设备视为…… 因此,我们在学校系统中教授语言的方式从根本上就存在问题,我认为,从根本上说,将iPad和移动设备视为......