Travel and Adventures--Companions Over Time

For April 8, 2010
My fourth grade teacher had just returned from Spain and taught us Spanish while we learned the other fourth grade subjects.  I learned some French in a language-learning program offered at the university my mother attended for graduate school the next summer.  By the time I was ten I spoke a bit of both Spanish and French and began a life-long love of communicating in multiple languages.

In the summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school, because I had just completed two years of high school Spanish, I was invited to visit Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic as part of President John F. Kennedy's "Sister City" program.   This was my first opportunity to put into practice what I had learned in Spanish class.

That first taste of travel began another life-long love of travel.  Along with the travel came the adventures.  I haven't often written about those adventures and it seems to be a good idea to get started.

Language Tests, Language Practice, Language Learning and Review

In previous posts I have talked about the importance of maintaining second language proficiency.  Today I ordered some DVD movies in Italian from WalMart.com and was watching another DVD movie in Spanish that I had ordered from Netflix.  I have also been watching several DVD movies in French--some from my own library and some from Netflix.

I received a call today concerning a business opportunity I had applied for on October 29, 2009.  Today was the first I had heard about that application.  In the next few days I need to take a battery of tests in Spanish to compete for the position.

I had signed-up for the online language program to review my French and will now be reviewing my Spanish grammar while watching DVD movies in Spanish. 

It is amazing how many business opportunities can come forward when second-language proficiency is attained and maintained.  I am happy that practice is as enjoyable as watching DVD movies in the target languages and that these DVD movies are so readily available.

What is the Value of Communicating Conversationally in Multiple Languages?

I enjoy communicating in conversations with people.  My fourth grade teacher introduced me to Spanish, then I was introduced to French the summer before I went into the fifth grade.  In college I took Italian so that I could be the graduate counsellor at the university's study center in Florence.  I became conversationally fluent in Spanish, French, and Italian--motivated to have conversations with natives speaking these languages.  I lived and worked in Italy for three-and-one-half years, in South America for six months, and used French in Vietnam.  I could read and interpret in all three languages.

The U.S. Army found value in my ability to communicate in these languages.  I had duty assignments where I was required to communicate in each of the three languages.  After leaving the Army for a career as an organizational change management consultant, I had to find or make opportunities to speak the languages.  I have been using Spanish extensively as a teacher of English language learners (ELLs) in Illinois for the past six years.

One way for me to maintain my conversational fluency is to play the French, Spanish, or (more rarely) Italian audio and/or closed caption tracks on DVD movies.  That was how I built my fluency when living in Italy and it still is a good way for me to be interested and force myself to understand--I don't want to miss the punch lines.

I also find it valuable to listen to audio books in the languages and, when possible, to read along while I listen.  This is the same approach I have found very helpful for English language learners to learn English--listen to a book being read to them by a native speaker and read along with the same unabridged book.

Recently I needed to brush-up on my French and I signed-up for an online language learning program that will provide a basic conversational review (or introduction) for French and Spanish--vocabulary, grammar, and other essentials.  The program I signed-up for offers English and eight other languages at the basic conversational (101) level and was very affordable.  I signed-up for one year of the service and expect to review both French and Spanish and possibly to learn one or more of the other languages if I have a chance to use them in conversation.

I have worked with other online programs in the past and found this program to be one of the best values for a basic conversational language learning program offering multiple languages for one fee.

I liked the program so much, I signed-up to enroll others who can benefit from what the program offers.

To go back to the original question, what is the value of communicating conversationally in multiple languages? 

In the United States I see people from other countries who are struggling to communicate in English and I know that, if they had taken an online course to prepare them for basic conversation in English they would be much more successful in day-to-day living in this country.

As a visitor to many countries--Central and South America, Europe, and Asia, I have seen and felt the difference when I could communicate conversationally with people in their native language--and have felt the challenges when I was in countries where I did not know much (or any) of the language.  I was facilitating a class in Hong Kong that was conducted in English because, with the exception of one or two people, English was the only common language spoken by everyone in the training.  That meant that I had to rely on others to help me get through the day-to-day living requirements while visiting in Hong Kong.

Businesses are sending employees to other countries and knowing the language of the country would be of real value to both the business  and the employee.  Some organizations recognize the value of multilingual conversational ability and others do not.  The individuals with the capabilities certainly appreciate the value.  I know some people from Europe who are fluent in nine or more languages.  Chinese and Russian seem so different from English that I am very impressed when people native in these languages speak fluently in English to make my life easier.

I enjoy speaking and understanding Spanish when I visit Spanish-speaking countries.  I enjoy speaking Italian in Italy.  My friends in France have advised me that I need a refresher course before I speak French with French-speaking people in Canada or in France.  OK--now I'm in the program.  :-)

Helping Others Learn Language--Sources of Income for Teachers and Not-for-Profit Organizations

As a teacher of English language learners (ELLs) for the past six years, I came across many students and parents who needed to learn English.  Schools sometimes offer English as a second language for parents, though parents rarely have time to come to classes.

An affordable online English language learning program that parents and students can access on their own at home could go a long way to help both improve English skills.  As students build their skills in written and spoken English, academic performance can be expected to improve.

 Students who improve their English on their own using an online English language learning program can more more quickly through classes in English as a second language.  They can also engage more in English conversations related to the vocabulary and grammar they build in the basic English class online.

Some native English speakers can also benefit from an online English language learning program.  Any learner whose home or work environment is not used to standard English usage may benefit from a basic study of English language vocabulary and grammar.

The affordable online language program can benefit students learning English and can help students learning French, Spanish, German, Chinese, or Japanese (and three other languages) improve their communication skills in those languages.

In 2009, thousands of teachers in the USA were forced out of their teaching positions due to the availability of funds for education at local, state, and federal levels.  Many of these teachers need to find ways to make ends meet as they search for new jobs or careers. 

There is a business side to the online language learning programs.  This business side can allow teachers to generate some positive income flow while they pursue their job and career search.

Not-for-profit organizations also face a reduction in funding.  501(c)(3) organizations can get a free website and can receive commissions on the subscriptions of the members who sign-up for the program.  This becomes another source of income to help the not-for-profit organization achieve its mission and goals.

I spoke about signing-up for this program to review my French in a previous post in this blog.  I feel strongly that this will be a real help to students and their families and I am actively looking for people  to help me share this program with others.  It's available globally, not just in the USA.  The business opportunity is also available in most countries.

Online Language Learning and Global Business Opportunities

My research into an online language learning system to review my French language skills has led me to a new global business opportunity.  The online system allows subscribers to learn as many as nine languages during the period of their subscription (normaly six months or one year at a time).  One subscription is for an entire family and all of the course materials are online.  They are even interactive and you can record your voice and match it to native speakers.

The online system has been available for about five years and a different online English program is being released for use in China on November 1, 2009.

For the past six years I have been teaching English language learners (ELLs) in public schools in Illinois.  The English program could be of great benefit for almost 100% of the parents of these students.  While many of my former students did not have computers at home, some did and more purchased computers when it became clear that a computer with Internet access would help the students do better in school.

The even better news about the English language programs are that they can help students move ahead in their English skills and in their other academic subjects while allowing their parents to become more fluent in English to bring in more income for their families.

As you will see on my new website, http://www.drm-language.com, there are even programs to build business English and to prepare for the U.S. Citizenship exam and for college entrance exams.

I was excited about having a year's subscription to build up my French fluency and to review my Spanish grammar.  If I end up working with more people from the other six countries that have language courses in this online system, I can begin picking up even more languages.

I like the idea of having something affordable to share with non-native English speakers who are struggling to learn English.  I use audiobooks and eAudiobooks a lot with them and these online courses can focus on building essential vocabulary and basic grammar.  All of the courses focus on practical communication in the various languages.

What's more, I spoke today with Dr. Ivan Dulik who began with this program almost five years ago and who has spoken to about 1,200 people about the program.  Of the 1,200, about 300 decided to enroll in the program and of the 300, about 80 decided to focus on sharing the program.  The program offers free websites to subscribers.  When someone subscribes to the program by using a website of a subscriber, the subscriber earns a commission for each new subscription.  Of the 80 people who decided to share, 35 became really focused on sharing the business and, over five years, have generated almost one million US dollars for Dr. Dulik--see the link for "Two EN101 Success Stories" and remember that the date on Dr. Dulik's story is from 2007.

I don't expect to generate one million dollars anytime soon--though I wouldn't turn it down.  What I do see is that it is a worthwhile, affordable program that lots of people I know in the USA and outside the USA can benefit from.  As they learn, they can also help their families by sharing the program and earning commissions from the people who also decide to learn English.

English language learning is a major global market at this point and I don't know of any program that includes all the values and benefits of this new one at a very affordable price.

Second Language Learning via the Internet

The Internet has made some things much more accessible.  Second language learning (the learning of any language beyond a person's native language [mother tongue]) can be accomplished with the support of the personal computer and the Internet.

One of the best ways to learn a second language is to start young.  French and English schools in Canada have been offering dual-language programs for years and can serve as a model for best practices.  Some Spanish and English dual-language programs in the USA have also served as the model and as the research platform to improve teaching.

We naturally learn language through the process of listening (or observing if we are deaf), thinking, then speaking (or practicing hand signs if we are deaf), thinking some more to make sure that we are understood.  Later we move to the area of reading (best approached by listening to "native speakers" read to us while we read something interesting) and finally beginning to use our favorite readings as models for writing.

This approach works well for both first language learning and second language learning (SLL).  Once we have acquired a solid foundation in the communication centers in our brain for language, we can begin to add multiple languages.  I have found that an ear for language is similar to an ear for vocal music--listening to variations of tone and pitch and pronunciation.  Some people say that you need an initial base for a language before the age of 15.  I was exposed to most of the languages I know before then, though I began studying Italian in college.

I loved communicating in multiple languages and, when I took the Army language exams, tested fluent in Spanish, French, and Italian.  I lived in Italy for three-and-one-half years and was considered (by the Italians I worked with) fluent.  I have been speaking Spanish for much of my life and am certified by the state of Illinois as a bilingual (Spanish) teacher.  My French is my least-used language.  While once fluent, I haven't had the need to speak it daily.  Yesterday I signed up for a year's subscription to EN101--an online language program for English language learners (ELLs) with supplementary programs in multiple languages.  I've started my review of French and will probably review the grammar for both Spanish and Italian throughout the year to bring back my fluency in all three languages.  My native language is English and am certainly fluent in that.  I am also certified in the state of Illinois as a Teacher of English as a Second Language and have been working in that field with adults overseas in Europe, Asia, and South America.  In the USA, I was an ELL teacher (K-12) for six years.

I was recently approached by the founders of two language programs, focused primarily on teaching English as a second language.  The first of these was EN101--which I have already subscribed to as a student of languages other than English.  The second has a full release date set for November 1, 2009, and is the English language program of Excel Global University (XLGU).  The initial focus of the XLGU program is to make a conversational English program available online at a modest tuition to English language learners in China.

My undergraduate major was Humanities--with more than 55 credits in English courses.  My certification as a teacher in Illinois includes a "highly qualified" area of English and Language Arts and Reading at the K-9 level.  I have also taught English as a second language at the high school level. 

I believe strongly in second language learning and have written several research articles about English language learning and second language learning.

As I begin to work with both EN101 and XLGU, I believe that becoming conversationally fluent in English will be a big help for immigrants to the USA and to people wanting to develop business relationships with organizations based in the USA with connections outside of the USA.  The second language learning offerings can help people fluent in English to pick-up conversational fluency in other languages to help make communication of better quality and easier in dealing with non-native English speakers.

Beyond all of this, there are some business opportunities in helping to expand the reach of both EN101 and XLGU.  It's great to have a chance to help someone grow and to earn some money while doing it.

Second Language Learning--English, French, Italian, Spanish, More

Today I was asked how fluent I am in French.  It is my least used language at the moment.  I did study French for five years and was fluent in it in 1969 when I entered the U.S. Army.  I have used French in a limited way since then and could bring it back to fluency with a bit of study.

English is my native (first) language.  I am currently most fluent in Spanish, then comes Italian (I lived in Italy for 3.5 years) and, finally (for now) French.  It is amazing how much learning multiple languages helps in focusing the learning in all of the languages.  The real key is immersion--actually speaking the language in normal day-to-day activities.  One way to identify emerging fluency is when we are aware of dreaming in a second language.  Second language learning (SLL) is the term used for all languages after acquiring the first language. 

For me, most of my second languages have a Latin base.  That's helpful.  I'm very happy to have English as my first language--it's incredibly difficult to learn as a second language.  I enjoy language learning and am now certified as a Teacher of English as a Second Language in Illinois.  I had lots of hours in English in college and what I needed to learn to teach English as a second language is very different from the coursework I took in English while at the university.

How fluent am I in French?  I can probably get around in a taxi in France and I can be lots better with a brief refresher course in the language.  I'm exploring an opportunity to brush up on several languages.  I'll revisit this post with the links once I have them.