June 2006 Newsletter, Why the classroom?

Why the classroom porque el aula

One of the great influences on the development of The Linguist system was the discovery of the powerful combination of the Internet, the MP3 player and the online dictionary. Una de las grandes influencias en el desarrollo del sistema The Linguist fue el descubrimiento de la poderosa combinación de Internet, el reproductor de MP3 y el diccionario en línea.

I realized that I could download high quality sound files from many sources and then listen to them anywhere on a small device with excellent sound quality.

I was able to carry a range of interesting audio content on my MP3 player and listen while running, shopping, driving or just washing the dishes. Pude llevar una variedad de contenido de audio interesante en mi reproductor de MP3 y escucharlo mientras corría, compraba, conducía o simplemente lavaba los platos. I could look for interesting content on the web. I could transfer files from CDs on to my MP3 player. Podía transferir archivos de CD a mi reproductor de MP3. So my MP3 player became my little portable language lab, more flexible and of better quality than anything I had seen before. Así que mi reproductor de MP3 se convirtió en mi pequeño laboratorio de idiomas portátil, más flexible y de mejor calidad que todo lo que había visto antes.

What is more, I could find an unlimited range of meaningful content on the web. Además, pude encontrar una gama ilimitada de contenido significativo en la web. With the help of an online dictionary like Babylon, I could find the meaning of words with just the click of my mouse. All of a sudden texts that I would have found too difficult to read were now understandable.

These technological innovations lead to the creation of The Linguist, which integrates this technology in an efficient and enjoyable language learning system. The Linguist reflects the changing world we live in and takes advantage of new opportunities.

The language classroom has been overwhelmingly unsuccessful in teaching languages. El aula de idiomas ha tenido un fracaso abrumador en la enseñanza de idiomas. Most people who become fluent do so outside the classroom. La mayoría de las personas que adquieren fluidez lo hacen fuera del aula. The classroom is, for many people, either boring or stressful. The classroom is expensive. The students and the teachers have to travel to get there. Los estudiantes y los profesores tienen que viajar para llegar allí. Working people do not have time to go to classrooms, so many people are excluded.

Yet most language programs are still offered in the classroom. Die meisten Sprachprogramme werden jedoch immer noch im Klassenzimmer angeboten. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los programas de idiomas todavía se ofrecen en el aula. If the time spent in classrooms were spent reading and listening and talking, or studying with The Linguist, most learners would learn much faster. So my question is the following. Why do people continue to go to the language classroom?