Many people are accustomed to a model of language teaching that is heavily teacher-centered. To our minds (influenced no doubt by many years in China), this teacher-centered approach calls up images of the great sage Confucius sitting amidst his disciples, explaining the Way and occasionally asking questions to check his disciples’ comprehension; hence, we will refer to this approach as the sage model of teaching. The sage owes his exalted position to the fact that he knows more than his students do, and his primary task is to transfer his knowledge to his students. Once…

One of the most common questions asked by both Christians and non-Christians is, “Why are there so many Bible translations?” Are they necessary? Isn’t it overkill to have so many? The answer is, they are necessary. Without them, only a select few would be able to read the Bible. The Bible was originally written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Old Testament was written in mostly Hebrew, with a few passages written in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek. This can be hard to grasp since the Bibles we hold…

As Christians who go to church as much as we can, we must have been hit by the thought – why are there different Bible translations? I can’t help but wonder myself. Perhaps, it would have been better off for the whole world to use a single translation as it was the case of old? No one knows for sure! God has indeed blessed his Word in the King James versions over many centuries. However, studying the Bible is all about meditating deeply on the scriptures, and you can only meditate on the subject when…

The activities in a language course can be classified into the four strands of meaning-focused input (learning through listening and reading), meaning-focused output (learning through speaking and writing), language-focused learning and fluency development. The four strands principle applies to the learning of vocabulary in the same way that it applies to the learning of grammar, and to the learning of the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. We need to learn vocabulary through all the four strands. Meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, and fluency development activities are all communicative activities where we are involved in…

Relearning a forgotten language is easier for those under 40 A small study involving 7 native English speakers who had learned either Hindi or Zulu as children when living abroad, but now had no memory of the neglected language, found that the three who were under 40 could relearn certain phonemes that are difficult for native English speakers to recognize, but those over 40, like those who had never been exposed to the language in childhood, could not. The amount of experience of exposure in childhood ranged from 4 to 10 years, and it’s especially…

Language learning is a highly cumulative process. It is like making a tower out of blocks: you keep building on top of what you did the day before. If you don’t keep at the job steadily, pretty soon you’re trying to put new blocks on top of empty space. Thus it is important to keep up with and learn what is being presented to you about a language day by day. The following is a list of suggestions which may aid you in your study of a foreign language. As the four major parts to…

Sometimes we talk about “students” as if they are a more or less homogeneous group and that there should be a set of learning and teaching methods that would work well for all of them. However, learners vary considerably, and there is no reason for us to believe that they should all go about language learning in the same way. In the language teaching profession, this point is often made when talking about learning styles. One contrasting set of learning styles that has received much attention has to do with learners’ sensory preferences, with learners…

An important truth of language learning is that it requires mastery of a skill as much as acquisition of knowledge. In other words, it is not enough for students to know word meanings and structure rules; students need to be able to apply this knowledge quickly, even automatically, to express themselves smoothly, read competently, and comprehend spoken English rapidly. To build these skills, practice is necessary; study alone will not suffice. Again, this point might seem obvious, but remember the unintended lessons that many approaches to language teaching leave students with. For many students, language…

Bilingualism delays onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms A study confirms the dramatic effect of being bilingual, with bilingual speakers being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s more than 4 years later than monoglots. Clinical records of 211 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease have revealed that those who have spoken two or more languages consistently over many years experienced a delay in the onset of their symptoms by as much as five years. It’s thought that lifelong bilingualism may contribute to cognitive reserve in the brain, enabling it to compensate for memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with problem-solving and…

Vocabulary acquisition in children is significantly affected by the child’s ability to repeat back words. This limitation becomes less as the individual gains a large vocabulary, and thus develops a greater ability to make semantic (meaningful) associations. When learning a new language, your ability to repeat back unfamiliar words is only a factor where you are unable to form a meaningful association to a familiar word. In such cases, the keyword mnemonic can be especially useful to those with limited ability to repeat back words. Research with children has demonstrated that the ability to learn…