So what is the best way to learn a new language?  Is there a language learning program available that provides everything you need?  I don’t think there is, so I’d like to build one.

I came up with an interesting acronym for language learning: ICE.

The primary element is the Idea.  That’s really all language is: the communication of ideas.  Regardless of the language, including body language, sign language and braille, it is simply the communication of an idea or feeling.

So, the underlying element for everything MUST be the idea.  Not grammar rules or anything else.  What is the IDEA being expressed?

When someone says ‘hello’ in any language, including eye contact from across the room, the idea is clearly understood, regardless of whether you know that particular language or not.  Learning your first ‘word’ in a new language is as simple as that.

Next is Comprehension and Expression.  Did you understand the ‘hello’ or not?  Did you reply ‘hello’ or not?

I want to create a language learning system that starts with ‘hello’ and carries on, leading you step by step, word by word, Idea by Idea, until you can Comprehend and Express everything in a new language.

Similarly, if a girl walks across the room, smiles, offers her hand to shake and says, “Hi, I’m Julie.” or “Привет, я Наташа.” or “Konichiwa, watasha wa Yuko.” you can bet your life that I will understand what she said regardless of the language and will reply “Hi, I’m Brian.”

Now, if I had a perfect memory, I’d already know how to say that expression in the new language and I wouldn’t ever forget.

Of course, most people, and definitely me included, have a hard time remembering names, let alone how to say it in a new language.  So, we need to hear the idea expressed again and again.

The perfect language learning system would understand this need but provide it naturally and pleasantly.  And it would also provide the repetition in accordance with your own particular needs, not simply at an average speed for everyone.

So, she then introduces herself to the rest of your friends at the table and you get a natural repetition of the expression: Привет, я Наташа. [privyet, ya Natasha]

She then motions to the empty seat beside you and says: Можно? [moshna]

Well, you’d have to be braindead not to realize that she asked: May I?  And you’d have to be completely dead to anything but quickly reply, “Yes, yes! Please!”

Offering her a drink, learning where she’s from, etc, etc, is perfectly simple even though neither one of you speaks a single word of the other’s language.

Now, if she became my girlfriend and had endless patience and could be with me 24/7, then I’d have “The Best Way to Learn a New Language.”

Since that’s not likely to happen any time soon, and certainly can’t happen to everyone all over the world, there needs to be something else that’s “The Best Way to Learn a New Language.”  There needs to be something online, on the internet..  language learning software that accomplishes the same thing.

I believe it’s possible and I have a friend in Kyiv who’s a programmer and is currently working on just such a program. When we get it finished, I’ll be sure to let you know! Until then, let’s continue to figure out exactly what’s needed.

The language learning program needs to maintain repetition but in a ’spiralling’ manner.  One of your friends needs to forget her name, so that she has to repeat, “Я Наташа.” and then again but the expression ‘my name is..’ gets introduced:  Меня зовут Наташа. [menya zavyt Natasha]

Other language programs like Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone like to give it a special name, and trademark it, but let’s be honest, it’s pretty obvious to all students. We forget and need to be reminded.

Within seconds or minutes, most people forget what they just ‘learned’.  There’s no need to use any special memory techniques if the learning material is set up correctly.

Pimsleur calls it “Graduated Interval Recall”, and he’s absolutely right that it’s a key element to a good language learning program, and in fact any learning program.

In his research, Dr. Pimsleur discovered how long students remembered new information and at what intervals they needed to be reminded of it. If reminded too soon or too late, they failed to retain the information. This discovery enabled him to create a schedule of exactly when and how the information should be reintroduced.

Thousands of teachers and millions of students all over the world have ‘discovered’ this, as I did, and it is extremely interesting to see it in action.  For some reason, if you see a word 5 to 7 times with gradually increased spacing within the context of a story you will have learned the word.  It will now be ‘locked in’ and shifted from short term memory to long term memory.

I don’t need to be a scientist or perform a whole bunch of (government funded) research to reach the obvious conclusion.  And it’s impossible to create a schedule of exactly when and how the information should be reintroduced.

Different people learn at different speeds.  If you’re gifted at languages or sports or music, you will learn quicker than someone who isn’t, so a learning program needs to take this fact into account.

I envision a language learning software program where the student simply chooses the speed: ‘just right’, ’slow down’, and ’speed up’.

If you have a private teacher, you’re not left to decide what to study. Most language learning websites are an imposing array of section on verbs, tenses, etc, etc and students are left dazed wondering where to go and what to do.

I want a language learning system which starts with ‘Привет’ and simply takes me forward and all I need to do is control the gas pedal.  ‘Speed up’, ’slow down’ or ‘just right’.

Getting back to Наташа, imagine someone decides to have a cigarette and offers her one, to which she replies, holding up her hand: Нет, спасибо. [niyet, spaciba]

From her body language, you know she said ‘no’, so it’s obvious she said, “No, thanks.”

As you continue to enjoy the evening and order a few more drinks, offering Наташа another drink and she replies each time: “Да, пожалуйста.” [da, pazshalsta] or perhaps “Нет, спасибо.”

If you’re listening to the audio for this story while reading along, then you don’t need to see the [...] guide for how to pronounce the Russian, and very, very quickly you will have learned how to read Russian; naturally and effortlessly. That’s another key element to the ‘perfect’ language learning program. It all needs to happen naturally and effortlessly.

When Наташа gets a phone call and says to you, “Извинте.” [izvinitiya], you know she said ’sorry’ or ‘excuse me’. And when she answers “Ало.” [a'loa], you’re very surprised by how close it sounds to ‘hello’ but it has a slight inflection that you can’t quite figure out.

And if you’re really on the ball, when she’s done you’ll ask: “Можно your telephone number?” 

… to be continued

First off, I don’t want to offend anyone who likes the Pimsleur programs and I would really like you to keep reading with an open mind and I think you’ll agree with virtually everything I have to say.

Clearly, the Pimsleur Language Courses have some very good features but from a student’s perspective, I still find them lacking in many ways.

One, I want the text.  Learning to read a new language is just as important as learning to understand it in spoken form and I really don’t understand at all, why you wouldn’t begin both at the same time.  More on this later.

Two, I want to be in control to go at my own pace, and I don’t want to spend time listening to a bunch of English.

Those are my main 2 criticisms, so now let’s look at the course in more detail.

Here’s some typical literature about Pimsleur Language Courses and I’ll make comments as we go.

Why Pimsleur?
Pimsleur Language Courses are audio courses. Since there are no books included, the Pimsleur courses are great way to learn while driving, exercising, etc.

A complete course can easily have a suite of audio material that’s even much more extensive and complete than Pimsleur’s.  Why not include soundtracks from movies?  Music with lyrics to learn while not driving then you can sing along while driving. Radio interviews, programs, etc.  Much better, right?

The Pimsleur language courses teach you to both speak and understand a new language. You’re not just learning “phrases” with the Pimsleur method, you’re acquiring essential, conversational language skills! You’ll be thrilled to discover you can hold real conversations in your new language when you have finished the course.

Uh, well, that is the point of learning a language isn’t it, so you can have a real conversation! It’s sadly true that most programs, especially those in schools and universities don’t provide students with the ability to communicate in the language.

Dr. Paul Pimsleur’s original and unique method enables you to acquire new language ability as effortlessly as children absorb their native language. You will succeed because the Pimsleur program makes sure that you learn vocabulary and grammar correctly and easily in conversational settings without mindless repetition. Pimsleur is the only language program that includes exclusive, copyrighted memory training that ensures you will always remember what you have learned.

Let’s be honest, these claims of “learn as effortlessly as a child learning your native language” are completely ridiculous.  There’s an element of truth, but I for sure don’t want to be completed immersed in a language and wait more than a year before I can say ‘Mama’.  There are many programs making similar claims but when you really look at the programs closely, none of them, including Pimsleur, are delivering what’s really needed and wanted by virtually ALL the students.

…sorry I have to run now, but will continue this soon.

For some samples of Pimsleur Russian along with the text that they don’t provide, please visit: Text for Pimsleur Russian

Hi all, just a quick post to begin with then I’ll add some more.

If you’re looking for the transcript or text for Pimsleur Russian, you can find some of it here: Text for Pimsleur Russian

The text for more of the units will be coming soon.

Have you ever thought of learning Russian but didn’t thinking it was too hard?  Have you tried learning Russian but quit because you found it too hard?  Are you trying to learn Russian and finding it very hard?  Well, we have just what you need!  Here’s a short video to show you the easiest way to start learning Russian.  Just LISTEN and READ.  When you’re reading try ’speaking’ by just following along and copying what you hear.

For a lot more material on learning Russian for beginners all the way to experts, visit Learn Russian at Language Learning Online.  And stayed tuned for material as I continue learning myself.

Hi, just a quick invite to everyone interested in learning Indonesian. I’m trying to get started with RSS feeds, but unfortunately it’s not ‘really simple’ like it says. Nothing is ever totally simple until you’ve done it a few times.

Anyway, come visit us at learnindonesian.org and check out our first podcast at Podcast Alley.  (They said paste this in a new posting in order to claim our feed, so here it is:   <a href=”http://www.podcastalley.com/”> My Podcast Alley feed!</a> {pca-43478a218039fd77194829da5fc68399}

Sampai jumpa!!

Hi again!!  Still working on this podcast and RSS feed stuff.  Making some headway though.  I think I have the XML file making and editing sorted out.  (Poderator.com was helpful) and opened an account for Bintang Bahasa at ClickCaster.com which also seems pretty good.

Here’s the audio link from ClickCaster.  Let’s see if it works here.

It worked on blogger, so let’s see if it shows (above) this time.

Learning a foreign language doesn’t have to be a painful experience.  I know, all of us who ever tried in high school or another time have painful memories and almost zero ability at the end of it. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way.

I’m currently working on French and Russian and Japanese, so to help others follow in my path, I’ve started a website: languagelearningonline.org It’s brand new but I’ve been involved in foreign language learning for several years now and have had a lot of success teaching people English and Indonesian.

I’ve also spent quite a bit of time searching the internet for good sites, and unfortunately haven’t found very many.  Lots of them claim to have ‘revolutionary new methods’ but when you really look at it, it’s not much different from all the rest and the student is still left struggling much of the time.

I’ll continue this post shortly, but wanted to first get the news out.  More soon.

As with everything on the internet and with computers.  Once you’ve learned how, it’s easy.  Until then, it’s frustratingly confusing and time consuming.

So, we’re setting up a podcast and rss feed for audio files to learn Indonesian.  I used RunStream to set up a feed, and they have some good stuff, but it seems they limit free accounts to just 3 posts.  I also discoverd SpringWidgets which is very cool.  And now I’m trying to set up my podcast at PodcastAlley.  They say copy the following at publish it, so here goes nothin’.

<a href=”http://www.podcastalley.com/”> My Podcast Alley feed!</a> {pca-43478a218039fd77194829da5fc68399}

ciao for now,

Brian

The other day I came across a great widget for combining rss feeds (text, audio and video) and they have some other interesting widgets.

I don’t know if I can add the widget here or not.  In Blogger it’s possible by inserting the code into a text box in the sidebar.  Or you can set it to your blog at Blogger or Worpress and others directly from SpringWidget.  Anyway, I’ll copy the code below and see what happens.  You can see a sample of it at my site for learning Indonesian: learnindonesian.org

<!-- SpringWidgets | Learn Indonesian - Basic Audio Files (#61907) | HTML | Generated on 10/12/2008 --><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowNetworking="all" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" height="418" width="200" id="springwidgets_61907" align="middle" data="http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=61907.sbw" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0"><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=61907.sbw" /><param name="flashvars" value="param_param=http%3A%2F%2Frunstream.com%2Ffeed%2Ff%2F1612%2Ft%2Fall%2F&param_compactView=-1&param_blurbLength=512&param_style_borderColor=0x000000&param_style_brandUrl=http%3A%2F%2Flearnindonesian.org%2Fbali-dancer-blue-ocean2.JPG" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="bgColor" value="0x000000" /><embed bgColor="0x000000" allowNetworking="all" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" src="http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=61907.sbw" flashvars="param_param=http%3A%2F%2Frunstream.com%2Ffeed%2Ff%2F1612%2Ft%2Fall%2F&param_compactView=-1&param_blurbLength=512&param_style_borderColor=0x000000&param_style_brandUrl=http%3A%2F%2Flearnindonesian.org%2Fbali-dancer-blue-ocean2.JPG" quality="high" name="springwidgets_61907" wmode="transparent" width="200" height="418" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object><div style="font:11px/12px arial;width:200px;"><a href="http://www.springwidgets.com/widgets/view/61907/?param_param=http%3A%2F%2Frunstream.com%2Ffeed%2Ff%2F1612%2Ft%2Fall%2F&param_compactView=-1&param_blurbLength=512&param_style_borderColor=0x000000&param_style_brandUrl=http%3A%2F%2Flearnindonesian.org%2Fbali-dancer-blue-ocean2.JPG&width=200&height=400" target="_blank">Get this widget!</a></div>


So, there’s the code and I’ll publish it now to see what it looks like, then I’ll try one directly from springwidgets.

cheers, Brian

I will keep this posting short because there’s nothing much to say.  If you have a new site and want to get it indexed by Google just write about it in your WordPress blog, give a link to it and voila – you’ll be listed in less than 24 hours.

I’ve done it for a couple of my sites: 5plus5team.com and more recently learnindonesian.org and it works every time.  Oops, it didn’t work now for my learnindonesian.org site.  This web blog gets listed in less than 24 hours, but it didn’t follow the link this time.  Don’t know why.  I’ll let you know when they do find my site, and if anybody has any other simple tips I’d love to hear them.

So, it’s time to put this issue to rest. Don’t pay for any service, don’t make any submission to Google or any other search engine, just write a quick introduction to your site and you’re done. You’ll be listed by Google in less than 24 hours.

Ciao,

Brian

Update: October 15, 2008

Okay, I’ve been following this for a week now, and I’m more than a little confused, but it’s all working okay.  For several days, I still wasn’t listed, even for ‘learnindonesian.org’, and my AdSense was showing on the page either.  Then yesterday I happened to check ‘learn indonesian online’, to check the ranking for our original site bintangbahasa.com.  It was still ranked in the 40’s (46) and listed just below it was my new website learnindonesian.org (50).  Go figure.  I then checked some other searches and for ‘learn indonesia audio’ we were 15th.  Wow, cool!  Our older site was ranked 24th.

I then checked ‘learn indonesian’ which is what we want to get a good ranking for.  BintangBahasa.com is still somewhere in the 100+ range, and my new site (learnindonesian.org) was ranked 36.  Super cool!  In just a week!

Now, I think one of the key factors to getting a good ranking was this blog (1 article) and my Blogger blog (1 article) and most importantly an rss audio feed.  I looked at several and chose runstream.com.  It seems really good.

A day later, I redid my AdSense code and it’s showing up now, but it still says ‘inactive’.  And my ranking, just a day later, has moved from 15 to 51, and 50 to 23, and 36 to 48.

I have no idea what Google is doing, but it will be interesting to follow for a while and see what happens.  They still have a long way to go in improving the quality of their search results in order to provide good results that provide the information that users want, but it’s a tough job with so many people trying to make money with parked domains, intermediary pages, etc.

Hopefully, one day, we can clean up or at least avoid the garbage which is constantly building up on the web.

Anyway, to get indexed and ranked quickly for your new website, right a blog article, do a rss feed, and have some good content.  Next I’ll try it for a very competitive search ‘learn English’.

Till then, Brian