English as a Second Language - Articles - Zimbio

How To Learn Spanish Fast At The Comfort Of Your Home

Thu, 15 Aug 2008 17:53:43 GMT

posted by vescobar

Whatever your reasons are to want to know how to learn Spanish fast, you have taken a smart decision. When an individual speaks more than one language it seems that more doors with great opportunities open at their feet. In this article I will show you a great tool that will help you find out how to learn Spanish fast.

The first thing you need to consider to find out how to learn Spanish fast is the way you learn better. There are many people that learn by watching or listening for example. If you want to know how to learn Spanish fast find out and pay attention to the best way you utilize your memory and improve your learning ability.

Visualizing what you learn through pictures is a great way of learning Spanish quickly. This will help your brain associate the images with the correct words. If you add to that an audio lesson it will become even easier to apply each word to the right subject at the same time that you learn how to pronounce each word.

Association games are nothing new, but its been within the last few years that this method has helped hundreds of people to finally figure out how to learn Spanish fast.

Also, to learn Spanish at the comfort of your home, it is a good idea to use a Spanish learning software that offers different types of learning methods that are implemented within the software’s lessons for a better learning experience.

If you want to know how to learn Spanish fast try using this kind of computer software. You don’t need to be a computer literate to be able to use them, they are simple to use and a great tool to expedite your Spanish learning process.

A Spanish learning software will provide you with easy to follow lessons that you can follow in the comfort of your home or office. The best Spanish learning software also comes with MP3's that you can use while traveling, exercising or even cooking.

It has been proven that these Spanish learning softwares are a great tool for learning not only Spanish but many other languages as well.
So, how to learn Spanish fast? Get your Spanish learning software, go through one lesson each day, practice it 10 to 30 minutes after the lesson ends and you will find yourself feeling more comfortable speaking Spanish in a short period of time, as short as 8 weeks. Don’t believe me, try it. You will be amazed with the results.

Personally, I learned Spanish with this Spanish Learning Software!

Computer-Assisted Language Learning for ESL/EFL

Wed, 3 Jul 2008 20:04:37 GMT

posted by HeidiHyte
As research has diverted from a principal focus on the teacher to an expanded focus on the learner, the quest to discover what generates effective language learners’ success is under investigation. Research and theory indicate that successful language learners are highly motivated, self-directed, and use language learning strategies. While each of these tenets characterize successful learners, the latter, using language learning strategies, is of particular importance, not only because strategies play a key role in improving learners’ academic accomplishments, but because successful application of these strategies act as the propelling force behind learners’ motivation and self-direction. Research suggests that an effective method to employ in accomplishing these objectives is the use of Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL) software. CALL refers to the use of computer technology in the instruction and learning of a second or foreign language. The nature of individualized student-to-computer interaction promotes self-directed learning while providing an effective learning environment that increases learners' motivation to use strategies. Because the teaching and learning of language learning strategies receives much attention in ESL/EFL classrooms, the use of CALL to promote strategy instruction in such environments has become quite popular. The internet is a commonly-used resource to locate CALL programs to teach and learn ESL/EFL. Other online resources have abundantly surfaced as well which offer free media and other materials to teach or learn English. One such website recently launched by HEC Reading Horizons provides free resources to learn strategies that improve reading, spelling, and pronouncing English. Some of the free resources offered on their website include workbook pages, computer lessons, online teacher training, and learning activities. (Click here to browse and download these resources.) Technology provides a world of opportunities for teaching and learning ESOL. We just have to be willing to access the resources available to us!

The Effects of Teaching Phonics to ELLs/ESOL Students

Thu, 27 Jun 2008 19:15:19 GMT

posted by HeidiHyte
I participated in an online presentation this morning for an adult education facility where adult non-readers and ESL students are served. Because of my background in ESL teaching and literacy, I was asked to participate in a portion of the presentation to specifically discuss implications of phonics for ESL students learning to read and speak English. Following are a few of the thoughts I shared: 1) When ESL students learn the meaning of the word along with the sound of the word simultaneously, it “sticks” better. Students are able to remember the word more effectively when they associate the meaning and the sound with the written word. 2) How many times do our ESL students ask, “Teacher, how do you say this word?” We tell our students how to say the word, but we don’t often know why we say it that way. We need to help our students develop autonomy by teaching them strategies to learn how to pronounce words on their own. This approach better prepares them for “real-world” experiences. 3) An extra bonus of incorporating phonics instruction in ESL students' classrooms is that their pronunciation improves. I incorporate phonics training in both my ESL reading classes and my ESL speaking classes since phonics incorporates both skills. In addition, since phonics helps with spelling, phonics instruction has a place in an ESL writing class as well. 4) ESL students’ confidence increases when they are empowered with skills that help them successfully read and pronounce and spell English independently. One of my students who I had taught in a previous semester approached me one day in the hallway of the school and was very excited to report that he could decode and pronounce vocabulary better than his friend who was in a higher-level English class who had not had phonics training. His confidence empowered him. To witness this first-hand helps me realize that although this was simply anecdotal feedback, the effects of teaching phonics to ESL students is not only effective, but powerful.

How do you close your last class in a satisfying, summer ESL program?

Sat, 27 Jul 2008 03:15:21 GMT

posted by Eric18

Class bookends, both beginnings and endings, deserve special attention. This truism becomes more important in short term summer English programs where ESL students have traveled thousands of miles to study English.

As so often, I tend to learn by stumbling. Yet, over the years, I’ve developed a rather effective last class ESL lecture around a simple theme: Make Change Your Friend.

The lesson begins with a review of changes in their own lives over the last 10 years, and small personal chit-chats with each student. I tend to focus, just a bit, on the present perfect as they write 5 questions to ask their conversation partner and classmates. Most students are in college, but a few are working professionals a bit older. Studying - and living in - Southern California has usually been a very pleasant experience. Looking back on the last day seems natural. The mood tends to be a bit downbeat as students realize that the month has flown by very quickly. We have shared many laughs together.

By zooming out a bit more, we shift the conversation to changes - social, economic, or cultural - in our native countries over the last 10 years. The students usually provide a wide range of examples. Sometimes we also indicate how we would like our countries and cultures to change.

We soon shift to technological changes - and students share their experiences with different technologies. Of course, technology continues to improve - providing an optimistic twist. Computers are faster, video editing easier, and cell phones better. The evidence for material progress seems overwhelming.

Taking this theme a bit further, I note how the many uses of medical technology. People can live longer, new hearts installed, even limbs restored. From implants to cosmetic surgery, medical devices are changing our experience as humans. Are humans changing too? We live in fantastic times - unlike any previous generation.

I proceed to review themes from previous class readings and discussions from healthy relationships and elections to changes in human reproduction and evolving definitions of marriage. With a nod toward the great science fiction film Blade Runner, I ask “what makes humans human?” Let’s be humane as long as we human, as a Roman stoic philosopher advised.

Finally, quoting former President Clinton, I urge them to embrace change. “Make change your friend,” advised Clinton to worried Americans in 1992 during his campaign. Change continues to accelerate. You can’t stop it. Make it your friend. Find a wave that you want to ride, and catch it. Make change your friend.

Then, students write down three ways they can make change their friend. It’s a positive, look forward conclusion to a short English program. Soon class ends, students snap pictures with digital cameras, and exchange emails.

We make change our friend - even if the change is ending a wonderful, educational vacation. Students say goodbye to their American Language Center friends at UCLA Extension, and bravely face the future. Their English teachers feel satisfied - and bittersweet. It’s been fun.

The journey of life continues. Make change your friend.

ESL classes should include more conversation activities!

Sun, 16 Jun 2008 05:07:40 GMT

posted by Eric18

Conversation remains a vital social skill for our English students. Naturally, immigrants and international students want to fully participate in their schools, their jobs, and their communities. Speaking clearly in English allows individuals to express their life experiences, insights, and perceptions in fluent conversations – both inside and outside classrooms. Limited English fluency, in contrast, often causes additional stress. “Speech is civilization itself,” wrote Thomas Mann, the great 20th century German novelist.”It is silence which isolates.”

Therefore, conversation skills deserve far greater attention in English language classrooms for academic, social, and cultural reasons. Conversation skills also require practice, practice, and more practice. So let’s give our students more chances to express themselves, share their experiences, and develop their discussion skills in our English language classrooms - especially our high intermediate and advanced students. Teachers need to create encouraging, yet rigorous, classroom atmospheres where students can learn by doing.

Speaking skills, I’d suggest, deserve at least as much attention as grammar in our classrooms. Do students who know grammar, but can’t hold a conversation really speak English?
Conversation skills often matter more at work, at school, at parties, and at home. Whether ESL students seek better work opportunities, higher grades, or closer relations with native English speakers, our students also want to become fluent in English. So let’s meet both our students needs and wishes, and add more conversation activities and allocate more time to speaking skills in our ESL classes.

“English saved my life.”
Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), English novelist born in Poland

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