The Linguist - language learning should be fun

LingQ in the classroom and the role of a classroom teacher.

How can LingQ can be used in a classroom? I want to address two questions that I received quite some time ago, one from Albert in Taiwan and one from Milan who studies Cantonese in Hong Kong.

First of all let's realize that the vast majority of language teachers in the world are not native speakers, and are not a model of the spoken language, nor even, necessarily, of the written language that their students are studying. Furthermore, in many situations, students in schools are denied the opportunity to learn a language because there is no qualified teacher available, i.e. someone with at least some knowledge of this other language.

• LingQ, as well as other resources on the Internet, can greatly enhance the power of a teacher, regardless of whether the teacher is a native speaker or not.
  LingQ provides a wide choice of content with audio and text.
  LingQ offers a structured approach to vocabulary acquisition.
  LingQ integrates listening, reading, vocabulary review, speaking and writing.
  LingQ connects learners to a community of learners and native speakers.

A classroom can be an effective place to focus a LingQ program for a variety of reasons.

• The teacher can explain LingQ, how to get started and how to take advantage of all of its features. Most online learners do not use all of LingQs power.
• The teacher can assign content to learners from the LingQ library, or ask them to import content that is more relevant to their curriculum.
• With LingQ, the teacher can have individual learners or groups of learners working on different content (even different languages), that suit their interests and abilities.
• Issues related to the language, or the use of LingQ, can be discussed in class.
• Students can be encouraged to study on their own, in class as well as away from the class.
• The teachers can more easily work with individual learners, and follow their activity and progress.
• Individuals or groups of learners can share Vocabulary lists, discuss content items, or discuss how they use the system.
• Class discussions can be summarized and posted as content to be Imported and studied.
• Writing assignments can be corrected and easily integrated into each learners input activities.

Since there is a wide variety of listening material in the LingQ Library, even a non-native teacher can be effective in encouraging and stimulating learners, and giving assignments. The fluency of the teacher is less of an issue.

If the teacher is native, or a very fluent speaker of the language being taught, that opens up additional opportunities for free discussio  in the class, or even to create new content for use in LingQ.

I addition, there are specific ways in which LingQ is particularly useful in preparing for TOEFL, TOEIC and other similar standard tests, as I have discussed earlier.

See below

I am working to develop a course for people taking these standard English tests. I am interested in hearing ideas on what to put into the course. Here are some of my ideas so far.

1) To me the key to success in these tests is a strong three-legged foundation.
The ability to read quickly and understand
The ability to listen and understand
A large vocabulary of words and phrases

2) If a person has a sound foundation then he/she can work on output.
Writing an answer to a question within a limited time period
Answering an oral question within a limited time period

For 1) what we do at LingQ is ideal. We have content on a wide variety of subjects, and our learners can practice reading, listening and accumulate a wide vocabulary.

We can take it one step further.

There are key lists of words available on the Internet
The Academic Word List
TOEIC lists
TOEFL lists
Previous questions from these tests
Etc.

Here are some examples:

http://language.massey.ac.nz/staff/awl/sublist1.sh tml
http://www2.nict.go.jp/x/x161/members/mutiyama/voc abridge-toeic/
http://supervoca.net/toefllist.cgi


These can be used in the following way.

create a Collection in Import called Lists.
import each list as an item in the Collection
open them as content starting with the one that has the lowest % new words
go through and LingQ the words that you do not know
use "examples" to find appropriate phrases for the LingQ box or wait until the word appears again in another text.
if you want you can Tag these words TOEFL or TOEIC or AWL whatever you want.

This procedure has a number of advantages
1) You can immediately input a long list of words that are necessary for these tests.
2) You get a sense of how many you already know.
3) These words will now appear highlighted in yellow in future texts at LingQ.
4) You will now have the words you need in your database for review in Flash Cards
5) You can track your progress in learning these words.

As for the output portion of standard tests, we will be working to recreate realistic tests of oral and written expression similar to what is on the tests.

I look forward to comments and suggestions.

After I get input here I will post on this subject on my blog. I believe that LingQ is a particularly useful tool for preparing for these tests, better than many of the specialized TOEIC schools etc. that charge a lot of money.

I think the same can be done for other languages and would be interested to know of what lists exists in other languages.

TEOFL TOEIC IELTS, word lists and LingQ

There are a number of important word lists available on the Internet such as

The Academic Word List
TOEIC lists
TOEFL lists

See
http://language.massey.ac.nz/staff/awl/sublist1.sh tml
http://www2.nict.go.jp/x/x161/members/mutiyama/voc abridge-toeic/
http://supervoca.net/toefllist.cgi

These can be used in the following way at LingQ.

• create a Collection in the Import section called Lists.
• import each list as an item in the Collection
• open them as content starting with the one that has the lowest % new words
• go through and LingQ the words that you do not know
• use "Examples" to find appropriate phrases for the LingQ box or wait until the word appears again in another text.
• if you want you can Tag these words TOEFL or TOEIC or AWL whatever you want in order to retrieve a list of the words you still need to learn.

This procedure has a number of advantages
1) You can immediately input a long list of words that are necessary for these tests.
2) You get a sense of how many you already know.
3) These words will now appear highlighted in yellow in future texts at LingQ.
4) You will now have the words you need in your database for review in Flash Cards
5) You can track your progress in learning these words.

Why not give it a try at LingQ.

Standard language tests

Here is the podcast

What is the purpose of standard language tests like TOEFL, TOEIC, JLPT, IELTS the Cambridge exams etc. I wonder. Japan is the world leader in taking the TOEIC test, with around 2 million testers. Many foreign students take TOEFL before coming to North America. Does this test taking help them speak English better?

If I were to recruit someone for a job, I would just ignore any standard test results. I would look at their written letter and resume, and then talk to them. If I were admitting someone to university, I guess these tests could be a minimum indicator, but I want to see something written by that person, as well as an audio file of that person speaking. I guess they can fake these things, but then if they are admitted based on falsified test results, the will fail and I guess may just have to go home.

I mean we are not talking about doctors or electricians or engineers here. We do not need some "objective" finely defined measurement of skill level. We just need to find out if people can communicate. Even when I look for translators I go to ProZ.com and get a lot of applicants offering to translate into just about any language. I ask them to do a trial, and select one. I never look at any scores or levels on some standard language test.

Tokyo week one

It is a rainy and cold Saturday in Tokyo. It is colder and wetter here than in Vancouver. I am staying at the Villa Fontaine Shiodome. As I look out the window I have a great view of a few floors of another tall building.

The area around Shinbashi has just changed beyond recognition. Modern and futuristic. The one advantage is that I am not far from the river, so I can jog there in the mornings, listening the Pushkin's The Captain's Daughter, as long as I get going before 6, otherwise the traffic and exhaust makes it less pleasant to be out running.

I really do not even have to venture outside since there are restaurants all around this modern office and hotel complex.

I wandered into a book store to check out the English learning area. Mostly TOEIC books, tens of different books with word lists and all the secrets of how to score high on TOEIC. That would sure kill my enthusiasm for learning the language.

My first 4 days were quite hectic, Tokyo, Nagoya, Wakayama and back to Nagoya and then Tokyo for meetings. I did have some pleasant dinners with people that I have not seen for a while, since this is my first trip in three years. I must come more often.

In Nagoya I met with Hitomi, one of our members, who a also been doing podcasts for us. Tomorrow I will meet with around 8 members, organized by Tamaki and Val. I am really looking forward.

Intensity and measurement in language learning

I came across an interesting article from Yomiuri in Japan, about how best to learn English, or any language, for that matter. The writer, Marshall Childs, makes two important points. First is the need for the learner to take charge of his or her learning and to commit to a period of intense learning activity. The second is the need for some ongoing measurement of progress, since tests like TOEIC do not provide that short term proof or confirmation of progress that is often need to keep a learner motivated.

These are themes that we often discuss here. I fully agree on the need for intensity in language learning. I feel this should mean a minimum of one hour per day of listening, reading and review activity for 5 or 6 days out of 7. It is not always possible to have English conversations every day. It is possible to listen and read and review words and phrases every day. The second element of intensity, and one which I refer to in my book, The Linguist, A language learning Odyssey, is the need to decide on a period of intense learning activity. This may last 6 months or one year or longer.

I agree on the need for short term measurement. That is why in The Linguist we measure words and phrases saved, learned and known. We also introduce a variety of other measurements. These are visible to the learner not only as a motivator, but also to indicate to the learner when he or she is ready to take a test like TOEIC.In my view, a low score in TOEIC, is almost worse than no score at all. In The Linguist we relate the learner's known word total to the likely achievable TOEIC score. If a person needs at least 750 in TOEIC, it is best to wait until the required number of words have been learned

TOEIC,TOEFL and IELTS White Paper

Here is a White Paper entitled The Importance of TOEIC, TOEFL and IELTS.

You can listen to the podcast here.

A discussion with a TOEFL course teacher

AJ teaches a course on TOEFL. Here he and I talk about how to do well on this test.

Listen to the podcast here.

On Vox: How to increase your English word power using the Imported Content function

Here is the podcast for this

I do not know if people realize how powerful the Imported Content section of The Linguist can be in increasing your English word power. This will work for everyone who is trying to learn English, but especially for people planning to take TOEIC or TOEFL. Let's look at some examples. I am going to talk about importing word lists to get them into your Words I am Learning area. Remember, however, that I do recommend building up your language power and fluency by doing a lot of reading and listening with with easy content and constantly updating your "known words" total. Still, here are some "power user" tips for people who already studied a lot of content.

» Read more on Vox

TOEIC and TOEFL etc. Part 1

Here is the podcast of this text.

How to approach TOEIC, TOEFL and IELTS. Part 1.

What do these test results really mean? Are they imporant to someone who wants to learn English? How much time and money needs to be spent to get good results? Who should take these tests and how often? How should people prepare for these tests? I would be interested in other people’s opinions.

In my view these tests mostly measure the ability to read and listen, both in terms of speed and comprehension. I consider these skills to be the foundation of vocabulary building and language improvement itself. So to that extent the tests are valid measures of something. They do not accurately describe language competence, but no test really can. TOEIC in particular has the advantage of being simple, fast, inexpensive and widely recognized.

The combination of reading and listening practice is powerful. Of course there are blind people who are fluent speakers, and deaf people who are competent readers, of many languages. Nevertheless, in an ideal situation a learner can work on both reading and listening. These activities are within the control of any learner in a way that speaking practice is not. You can always practice reading and listening and work on vocabulary. You cannot always find someone to talk to. That concept is at the core of The Linguist system.

Minimum vocabulary

According to expert Batia Laufer, there exists a threshold level of vocabulary required in order to interpret meaning when reading in English. Tests showed that the greatest variation in reading competence occurred between people who knew 2,000 word families and those who knew 3,000 word families. Below that level and above that level, reading skills did not change so dramatically.

According to vocabulary expert Paul Nation, we can use a factor of 1.6 to convert from word families to total known words. So using The Linguist way of counting words, 4,800 “known words” is the threshold level to be able to read normal English content, guessing at some words but generally understanding much of what is written. It was found in tests that learners with a vocabulary level of 3,000 word families achieved an average of 56% accuracy in comprehension tests. For every 10% increase in comprehension, the vocabulary needed to increase by 1,000 word families. To achieve a comprehension score of 70%, therefore, requires a total number of “word families of 5,000, or 8,000 “known words” based on the way The Linguist counts.

For someone wishing to work as a professional in English, there is little value in having a low TOEIC score. I think that 750 is a minimum for someone working in English in a business situation. Therefore I would recommend that the optimum time to take TOEIC is when the total “known words” score at The Linguist reaches 7- 8,000 words. This should enable a test taker to achieve a score of 750 on TOEIC. Every time the known words total increases by 2,000 to 2,500 words, there should be an increase in TOEIC scores of 100 points. Once a learner has amassed over 12,500 “known words” as some of our learners have, a TOEIC score over 900 should be quite straight forward.

Learners can therefore focus their efforts on learning English and on increasing their vocabulary through intensive and extensive listening and reading. They can forget about the TOEIC exam until they have the level of vocabulary that is going to give them the score that they need.

In a comparison of TOEIC scores around the world in 2004, had the lowest average TOEIC score at  255 for the section and 199 for the Listening section. and were also low, although higher than . In the scores were 350 and 334 respectively.

This is not surprising. Too many people in and take TOEIC before they are ready. Japan accounted for 67% of  TOEIC test-takers world wide. Only a small number of professionals in take TOEIC. If people in relied on a measure of their vocabulary, like The Linguist system, and waited until they had a good chance of scoring over 750, the average scores would be much higher. An average TOEIC taker in had a combined score of 454. Most companies in demand at least 600, and in many cases 750.

I will have more to say on this but would appreciate your comments. 

How fast can you read English?

I would be interested to know how fast our members can read English. If you go to this web site you can test yourself. I think that increasing your reading speed in English is one of the most important things you can do to improve in English and to do well in tests like TOEIC. So if you have time take the test and let me know how fast you can read English, if you want. I am interested to know.