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.