LingQ tutors

The previous post sparked a discussion about tutors, and  LingQ tutors. I wanted to repeat here one of the comments I made on the previous post, since I do not think many people read all the comments, and I think the question of the role of a tutor at LingQ is an important one.

Our tutors are competent speakers of their own language, and they are enthusiastic about language learning.Their role is, to paraphrase Krashen, to encourage the learner to become independent. That means to make them enjoy the language, to help them to understand how to learn a language, to encourage them and to provide feedback. Yet, in fact, the good tutors tend to create a kind of mutual dependence with the learner, as they get to know each other. Each is anxious not to disappoint the other.

I should add that, in addition to all the input based activities at LingQ, the tutor's reports from the learner's discussions and writing submissions, highlighting the learner's mistakes, do increase the learner's awareness or attentiveness, and are an important part of the learning process.

Our tutors do not resemble school teachers who have a need to teach a curriculum, nor do they resemble research oriented professors at a university. The latter are often pursuing obscure subjects of interest only to their peers. But not all professors are like that. My interest in languages all stems from a French professor at McGill University by the name of M. Rabotin.

The tutor can be a model and inspiration. The learner is trying to learn the tutor's language, and therefore to emulate the tutor's cultural behaviour to some extent. We learn better from examples and models, than from explanations. The tutor's role is important, even in a system which tries to encourage the independent learning spirit of the learner.

Comments

[Brian Barker]

As far as learning a second language is concerned, can I put in a word for Esperanto?

Although it is a living language, it helps language learning as well. Five schools in Britain have introduced this neutral international language, in order to test its propaedeutic values.

The pilot project is being monitored by the University of Manchester, and the initial results are very encouraging. These can be seen at http://www.springboard2languages.org/Summary%20of%20evaluation,%20S2L%20Phase%201.pdf

An interesting video can be seen at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8837438938991452670 and a glimpse of Esperanto at http://www.lernu.net

[Steve Kaufmann]

Maybe one day we will have Esperanto at LingQ, as long as there are people willing to provide audio and text.

[John B.]

Steve, I really like your profile of a good tutor. I think that being skilled at something that others want to learn and being a skilled teacher are two very separate things. When I was studying the violin I read about one of the greatest violinists in history, Paganini. He was unable to teach and was known to yell frequently to his students, "Why can't you play!" Not exactly the model of inspiration. My best teachers were always an inspiration and studying with them was exciting. I think that the excitement of discovery and learning can be contagious but the teacher needs to have the spark before they can pass it on!

[Edson R Follett]

You have a philosophy of teaching and of teaching ESL as I have. Very interesting. Retired after 29 yrs. teaching. I haven't talked with anyone with a similar philosophy. I have talk ESL, my own curriculum based on literacy, in Chile and Easter Island for 1 1/2 years.