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Learning a Language Online |
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Learning a Foreign Language: Why Should you Learn Words You Never Use in Your Mother Tongue?
Imagine a child sitting in front of a desk, his head in his hands, and mumbling various lists of words over and over. Does this child remind you of your own experience? If yes, I bet that "list of words" does not sound appealing to you. You are almost ready to swear that they do not work. Before you mortgage your part of paradise, it may be wise to make sure you are right. You can open a dictionary and begin to learn it by heart (a dictionary is no more than a list of words). There are many illustrated dictionaries that offer you the same resources as plenty of websites do by displaying colorful pictures with captions. You know that these tools exist because you have already tried to enrich your vocabulary that way. The scope of the task curbed your enthusiam. Though, it is not a bad way to learn vocabulary, it is even the best way for one person: the author of the list. Why? You are unique. Your memory is unique, not only because your memories are yours, and only yours, but also because the way you store them is yours and only yours. For a large part, memory is about association of ideas and the associations you make depend on your experience. Let's study an example to make it clear. Ask anyone to give you a word in relation with the common word "horse". You will get mare, race, chivalry or Trojan, etc, depending on the person who answers. He who answered "mare" might go on with stable, foal and even cow and other farm animals; he who said "race" would probably go on with racecourse and tote. Obviously, their experiences of life are quite different. "Chivalry" would lead to King Arthur, coat of mail and tournament while "Trojan" would meet Homer, odyssey, god and goddess. If you are a linguist, it is very likely that you associate horse to horseback, horsehair, horseman and horseplay and think that your list is easy to remember. On the contrary, if you are not interested in the Middle-Age History, the "chivalry" list will slip your mind. The more personal the links between the words, the easier the way to learn them. That is why a list works at its best for its author. The connections between the words pre-exist in the author's head. So, pave your way, prepare your own list! Gabrielle Guichard
MORE RESOURCES: BETHPAGE, N.Y. , Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) today announced that it has launched Optimum Latino, an innovative web channel that delivers high-quality Spanish-language content for Optimum Online customers. WSRE-TV starts a Spanish-language channel. KnowledgeLake, Inc., the leading provider of document imaging and capture technologies for Microsoft SharePoint™ Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions, today announced that it has added broad multi-language support to its full suite of products. Psychology professor Steven Pinker addressed the role of language in studying human nature in front of a crowded room at Sherman Fairchild Hall yesterday evening. MONTEREY, Calif.----Language Line® University today announced the launch of the “International Registry of Certified Medical Interpreters,” located online at www.ircmi.org. The first comprehensive, global industry resource of its kind, the registry gives hospitals, healthcare organizations, interpreters and researchers access to a free online resource for identifying professional medical ... A proposal by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party to constitutionally protect the German language triggered controversy and unease in Germany Tuesday. Though Hopkins Public Schools' enrollment has been on a steady decline for several years, one demographic that is growing is students classified as English Language Learners. It's a simple change of language, but one that means so much for people concerned with their Second-Amendment rights — whether it's legal to carry a gun in a public park.Millersville Borough Council took up the issue at a recent meeting, and voted to change a park ordinance so that res... Associated Press - December 3, 2008 12:35 AM ET McALESTER, Okla. (AP) - The mayor of McAlester says residents will determine what the language will be regarding how excess sales tax revenue is... A Faculty Senate official is pushing for a six-hour foreign language requirement to be implemented into the core curriculum in hopes that the administration will take action in the future. David Bedford, Faculty Senate Student Relations Committee chair and Spanish instructor, said he presented the issue to the Faculty Senate in the open forum so that the senators could start thinking about it, ...
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