Global Advantages and L2 Influences

Week 3 of blogging brings current and affirming information to share.  Once again, while I received about ten different articles, I found only few of them to be interesting and relevant to this blog and our learning.

The common dominator for this week’s articles is the global importance of learning a second language and how technology and other activities influence and aid L2 learning.  Please take a few moments to read through the article summaries and feel free to make comments.  Thanks!

The first article is entitled, “2 languages are better than 1” by Bhawna Kundra from Fiji Times Online on June 16, 2017.  This article reviewed the benefits and advantages to learning a second language, which include employment opportunities, global connections, sharper brain activity, stronger communication skills, and better memory.  Additionally, according to the article,  learning an L2 helps one’s concentration and negotiating skills as well as the ability to multi-task with patience, reflection, improvement, and perseverance; ultimately, giving bilingual and/or multilingual individuals the competitive edge in business, health, and education.  What I found interesting about the article is the aforementioned information was presented at the International School Nadi’s Language Day Celebration on June 1st.  I didn't even know that there was a Language Day, but this event allowed students to to use different activities to show their language skills.  These activities included arts, crafts, music, cooking, and films.  I believe these activities are exciting for the learners and helps them to take ownership of their new target language.  Lastly, I was pleased to read that films were included in the activities, especially since our last unit focused on digital storytelling.  

Check out the entire article here: 2 languages are better than 1

The second article is entitled, “Japanese classes attract high school students in the Philippines,” by Ronron Calunsod from Kyodo News on June 15, 2017.  I really enjoyed this article because the push for learning a second language was due to the high interest of an art form.  The Philippines Department of Education began offering Japanese, Spanish, and French language and culture classes at the ninth and tenth grade level to give their students an international competitive edge.  Many students enrolled in the Japanese course. However, it was not for the same reasons as the government intended.  They enrolled because of their interest in Japanese anime.  I think it is really cool that students and educators found common ground in L2 learning.  The students are enjoying learning Japanese because of an art and entertainment form, and teachers are focusing on grammar and other language skills.  Add in the students’ motivation for learning, and it is a recipe for success.

Read the details here:  Japanese classes attract high school students in the Philippines

The next article is entitled, “How music and songs boost language learning,” by Sheilamary Koch from multibriefs.com on June 14, 2017.  I included this article because once again it reinforces how activities and technology improve L2 learning.  Listening to the target language music and learning L2 songs help build long-term phonetic and vocabulary skills through repetition.  Moreover, music is a universal language and helps students to feel comfortable while learning.  I don’t know about you, but I can definitely relate to this article.  When my family travels and I tell my kids to unpack, I automatically break out in song to the tune of Unpack your adjectives from Schoolhouse Rocks Grammar.  Can anyone else relate? Thank you music for influencing learning.

To read this article, click here: How music and songs boost language learning

The last article is entitled, “Say it with Al: this new app helps learn a new language in just one month,” by Julie M. Anderson from Blu Public Relations published this past week.  The title of this article immediately raised some red flags for me, so I had to read it.  The article claims that the Zangu app, by AlTeachU, can help 3 to 10 year olds learn a conversational second language in just one or two months by focusing on overcoming bad accents, inability to speak out, and listening difficulties. Apparently, this app works for adult L2 learners as well.  The app is free and available in the iTunes store and will soon be available for android platforms as well. Too good to be true?  We’ll see. I downloaded the free app (Zangu a journey to space); maybe next I will be typing in a different language (although I am not going to hold my breath…) Either way, we once again see technology and other activities influencing L2 learning.

Click here for more information:

Say it with Al: this new app helps learn a new language in just one month

Have a great week!  Hablar pronto!