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A NEW ERA IN LANGUAGE-LEARNING

Presenting a revolutionary method of acquiring newlanguages

Completely interactive, a virtual community where peoplefrom diverse nations and language backgrounds can meet,

learn languages from others, and teach others their ownlanguage in a fun, multi-layered environment

Not just another language software package, but a 100%online, virtual WORLD where the primary objective is thesharing of information and exploring a new language

A virtual world which, based on a solid basic framework, willgrow bigger by the day on the recommendations of users,through updates, and even possibly through users adding tothe framework itself

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PART I HOW AND WHY DO PEOPLE

LEARN LANGUAGES?

In todays increasingly global community, the importance of

communication cannot be overstated, especially between

speakers of different languages

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REASONS FOR LEARNING FOREIGN

LANGUAGES

People do not only learn foreign languages for

business purposes, but also for such reasons as: Communicating with friends, in-laws, or family members

Communicating with members of a religious organization Diplomatic or political communications

Personal enjoyment and the satisfaction of learning a new, useful skill

Making new friends and interacting with people of different nationalities or cultures

Academic or scholastic purposes, such as studying a work of literature in the original

language or understanding the subtle nuances of a poem in another language

Employment purposes

Communicating with customers or clients

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LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD

Although English is in some ways becoming a sort of international language

which among professionals and corporations is often the lingua franca of

international business, many other languages are still as important, or

sometimes more, depending on the situation

Therefore, it is more and more necessary for people to speak more than one language

In order to be understood. However, with over 6000 languages and dialects in the

world today, how can a person ever find the means to communicate?

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SOME AVAILABLE METHODS TODAY

There are several methods available to learners of foreign

languages. The first is to enroll in courses in one of the more

commonly-spoken languages at a language institute,

community center, or embassy.

Although effective and often taught

by native speakers of the target

language, courses can be costly,

require travel to another location,

and for busy people, finding time to

fit them in ones schedule can be

difficult.

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LANGUAGE SOFTWARE

The alternative to travelling to another location for language

classes, language software can often be effective and useful in

language acquisition

Although there are many and they differ in many regards, what they all hold in common

is that they offer the student both the basic building blocks of learning a language

(vocabulary, grammar, phrases, sentence structure) along with interactive methods

of building knowledge and proficiency in using those elements.

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BUT IS THAT ENOUGH?

One thing that Ive found personally from my own experiences with language

software (and from many language classes I have taken) is that they lack

one fundamental necessity: the opportunity for the learner to use the new

language in real-life situations and with real people. Vocabulary, grammar,

sentence structure, memorized phrases all the building blocks are there,but not the means to use them and the practical situations for the student

to build their ability to use them confidently.

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TRAVELLING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY

Perhaps the ultimate way to acquire a new language is by travelling to the

country where that language is most commonly spoken. For example, if Mr.

Smith would like to learn Japanese, he might consider travelling to Tokyo in

order to learn it.

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GOOD IDEA, BUT

Will it really work? Obviously, its going to cost a lot of time (which he may or may not have) and

even more money.

While he is there, he will be immersed in the language, but will there be real, genuine

opportunities to study the language?

People will be speaking the target language all around him, but it will be at a very fast pace with

a lot of vocabulary, grammatical functions, and idioms Mr. Smith is not aware of. Therefore, unless he is at a rather advanced level already before he arrives in Tokyo, most of

the Japanese he sees and hears on the street will be, quite frankly, useless to him and not

particularly helpful in learning Japanese.

Finally, just as he would in his home country, he will have to enroll in time-consuming,

expensive language classes in Tokyo in order to really make any progress in learning the

language.

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SO WHAT IS NEEDED?

There are various situations in which a student ofa second language can interact and use the targetlanguage by finding a pen pal or online language

study partner to communicate with, by watchingtelevision in the target language, by listening toCDs or videos, etc.

However, the idea I am about to show you in a few

minutes will combine the best of all methods, intoa truly comprehensive, 100% interactive learningstyle that is fun, engaging, and effective.

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THE BEST WAY TO TEACH LANGUAGE

LEARNING From my years of teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) both at home in Canada and in South

Korea, I saw and used several methods in an attempt to most effectively help my students learn thefundamentals of language acquisition and to become confident in using English.

Some methodology favors rote learning and repetition of vocabulary, grammar, and structure with theoverall goal of trying to give students enough building blocks that they will be able to have themental resources to use the target language when needed.

Other methods focus solely on practice of the language, such as group conversation classes, role

playing, theme classes, etc. The purpose here is for students to use the language (that hopefully theyhave picked up elsewhere) in a practical setting and to develop confidence in using the language.

There are numerous other methods as well, such as whole-body methodology (where the student isimmersed in physical activity while learning the language), complete immersion (where the studentsfirst language is not allowed to be spoken at all, only the target language) and many others.

So which method is the best when it comes down to actually learning and being able to use a newlanguage?

The answer, I believe from years of both teaching my own language and learning other languages, is acombination of both productive, inductive, and deductive forms of learning.

In other words, the best way to teach is for the student to acquire the building blocks of a languageand then putting those building blocks together into real, usable, practical language that the studentwill become more and more confident and skillful in using.

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A METAPHOR FOR LANGUAGE

LEARNING A metaphor for this would be a carpenter or team of tradespersons building a house.

Most fundamental in building is the materials and tools they need to build the house,such as hammers, nails, wood, drywall, screws, flooring material, etc.

The linguistic equivalent of these is the vocabulary, grammar, rules, and structure of alanguage the tools necessary to read, write, listen to, speak, and understand alanguage.

Just like as a carpenter doesnt just find these lying at the jobsite, but must go to abuilding store to purchase them, a language student must be provided with the linguistictools to learn a language, through an expert teacher who knows how to use them.

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PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

However, just having the materials is not enough to build a house. A

carpenter must spend many years acquiring the skills and abilities to be

able to use these tools and supplies. There must be someone who knows

how to put down flooring, another who knows how to lay a concrete

foundation, another who knows how to put up drywall, etc.

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AND WHEN IT ALL COMES

TOGETHER

We have a brand-new house for people to live

in.

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HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO

LANGUAGE? Just as when building a house a carpenter not only requires tools and materials, but also

specific skills acquired through years of practice, learning a language requires using the targetlanguage in practical, real-world situations.

These skills cannot be learned overnight or by rote repetition, but can only be acquired andperfected by using them.

In the same way, when learning a language specific skills may include more obvious tools suchas being able to purchase milk at a grocery store (in Finnish, Greek, Burmese, etc.), being able

to hold a basic conversation in another language, or being able to explain to a customer whatthe daily special at a restaurant is and how much it costs.

Other less-obvious skills may include understanding what a native speaker really means whenthey use a certain idiomatic expression or colloquial term, understanding the different subtleinflections of vocal tone and volume that add meaning to an expression, or even understandingthe body language that goes along with most forms of verbal expression.

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YES, BUT HOW DO WE DO THAT?

The idea that I came up with includes elements from other language

learning methods and even from other sources, such as role-playing games;

however, it differs from them in the way that they are combined to form

something completely new, completely revolutionary, and a completely

interactive method of language learning.

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INSPIRATION

After attending numerous language classes, using various textbooksand workbooks, trying every language software pack available, andusing every other method I could think of to learn new languages, Ithought to myself, Wouldnt it be great if there was some sort ofonline community, a kind of virtual city where students could both

learn the skills necessary to speak a language, and then meetspeakers of that language and practice it, all without leaving theirdesktop computer?

I had in mind as a basic framework somethingI had seen in onlinerole-playing games

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SUCH AS:

The Sims

Sim City

Everquest

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OR IN OTHER WORDS

All of which immerse the player in an interactive world, where

they can choose their character, explore that world, and most

importantly, interact with other players just as they would

interact with other people in real life.

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HOW THIS IS DIFFERENT

This software will allow the user to create their own character, but they will be able to meet peoplefrom other countries who speak the language they are trying to learn, and they will be able to teachtheir own language.

We may start with a virtual city for each language, such as a virtual Chinatown for learning Chinese, ora virtual Paris for learning French, but later we may expand and incorporate data from satellite imagesand Google Earth to create a veritable virtual world, accurate to the detail with the real world.

Since the primary purpose of this project is language learning, the online world will have built-in

features that allow the user to learn a language while exploring the world. For example, simply by clicking on objects, the user may learn the names of those objects in another

language.

Also, there will be virtual classrooms where people may sign up at certain times for classes (with realor computerized instructors) to learn the fine details of the target language, from beginner toadvanced.

As we expand, we may add features that are specific to the goals of the student learning a language,such as a Kids Zone area, or an interactive business tower in a virtual downtown core wherebusinesspeople may learn the fine art of business etiquette of another country and in another

language. Teachers will be both built into the software as virtual instructors and real people under the guise of a

3D avatar.

There will be fun incentives for learning languages and for reaching certain goals, such as gamepoints or special activities.

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(CONTINUED)

But, as stated before, the primary objective is language learning, so our main focuswill be first on developing educational materials, interactive games and activities,quizzes and tests, etc. that provide plentiful material for learning the basic tools of alanguage.

There will be ample opportunity to practice the languages learned, since a personfrom, say, New York who speaks English may meet an avatar of a person from

Shanghai who speaks Chinese and the two may converse in this virtual world inEnglish or Chinese, using what they have learned.

As the community grows and grows, users may input their ideas for expansion,provide positive and negative feedback through surveys, and even design their ownlocations in the virtual world or activities to be used by other members.

Monitors (perhaps under the avatar of a police man or woman or security guard) willmonitor language used in order for basic guidelines of clean language, respect, and

courtesy to be used, as well as to ensure that users do not use this for advertisingtheir business interests online.

As well, source code will be built into the system to disallow violent, course, orinsulting language to be used.

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THE END RESULT

Overall, I think with cooperation from users and an aspiration to grow,expand, and improve, this virtual world will grow to become something quiteuseful.

Not only will people have the means and resources to learn a new languagein a fun and interactive way, but they will have endless opportunities topractice it with speakers of the chosen language.

In other words, it will grow and improve simply because everyone who uses itwill have the same objective, to increase their opportunities to learn a newlanguage in a fun, exciting way.

The cost for users will be lower than most language software and courses,and much lower than the cost of travelling or living in another country.

As a rough estimate, a user may subscribe to the service for around $15 permonth and be able to use all the features in it. Certain basic features maybe accessible for free.

Profits generated from user fees will go towards expanding the system andmaking refinements.

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FINALLY

Other features such as virtual landmarks and cultural events will be

incorporated to make for a more genuine experience.

The point is to learn a language, but all the while having so much fun that it

doesnt really seem like work for the student.

Any other input would be appreciated and taken into consideration.