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Using this site
The best way to make progress with a second language is to use it - see the Background. This can be done in various ways, and the menu shows the main categories for this.
You need to run this site on a Windows or Mac machine, with an internet connection. The use of speech recognition and speech synthesis also means that it only works with the Chrome browser. Finally, it makes a huge difference to use an earphone/microphone headset - see Tools.
Why
I began this site because I was learning French and just couldn't find the activities, advice or materials that I wanted. After English, French is the most commonly-learned foreign language (1), and there are a huge number of sites and programs around. I tried out all of the main ones, but didn't really seem to be making much progress.
Most approaches are also commercially-driven, which means they must have some form of process or content which they can sell. This normally means that they use progression through vocabulary and various grammatical rules, structured by some form of teach-test procedure. The content is typically boring and progress is painful. Even if you persist, it is very unlikely that you will be able to use such learning in real-life situations, where you need to have automatic skills, and to focus on meaning.
It is perhaps not surprising that a number of studies have found that very few people stick with such traditional courses. Nielson (2011) for example found that only about 1% of people completed the two very popular programs 'Rosetta Stone', and 'Tell Me More'. Even full time courses have very high dropout rates, despite students apparently initially being quite keen on developing language skills.
How
Because of my background in education and psychology, I started to look around for alternative ideas and techniques. I was most influenced by the ideas of Stephen Krashen, who emphasises the importance of meaningful input (2). I also looked at normal, first-language learning, and connectionist models – see Background.
These all lead to the conclusion that the most effective language development activities should have an emphasis on using language in meaningful contexts, closely matched with the level of the learner (a 95% plus success level).
Language is all about speaking and listening, but reading gets the greatest exposure (you read faster than you can talk) with good involvement (if you read at the right level). So that you can focus on meaning (and hopefully enjoy what you read), the difficulty can be managed by graded texts, along with new instant-translation aids. This is largely the basis for the Tools, and the Resources sections of this site.
In order to transfer to real-life use of language, this needs to be followed by listening and speaking experiences. To do this, I have developed speech copying activities, as well as free speech recognition. These use recent developments by Google, which are based on sophisticated neural network systems (similar to the way the brain works).
Further activities involve reading + listening (at the same time), and the use of videos with different levels of support (translation + subtitles). Beyond this, I reckon you've just got to get out there and talk to a native French speaker, though you will initially run the risk of 'immersion mismatch'.
This site is above all an approach to develop key language skills, along with activities and materials to enable people to use that approach.
While looking into the background to all of this I also found some rather sobering information about the task which is ahead of a second-language learner. The amount of information to be mastered is somewhat mind-boggling - tens of thousands of words, plus thousands of rules. The time that this takes is also huge - typically a number of years, with significant daily involvement (for example about an hour a day of reading). The only way to really tackle this sort of thing is for it to be part of your life.
"Bonne chance, et Bon voyage !"
Who
My name’s Martyn Long, and I used to be a teacher, and an educational psychologist. I have always been particularly interested in developing structured learning programs, although I now find myself arguing for (and using) a partly unstructured approach. I am also fascinated by underlying theories and models, particularly connectionist approaches, which match in with the way in which the brain works, as well as recent developments in A.I.
References
(1) https://qz.com/677833/the-languages-the-world-is-trying-to-learn-according-to-duolingo/
accessed 11.3.17
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_hypothesis
accessed 5.4.17
Nielson, K. (2011). Self-study with language learning software in the workplace: What happens? Language Learning & Technology, 15(3), 110-129.
Download from:
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/44265/1/15_03_nielson.pdf
Also covered in this blog: