Last week I had the privilege of being among some amazing people - language coaches! We were in the presence of greatness at this conference - Lonna Dickerson from the ICCT at Wheaton College, David Broersma, also of ICCT, and my supervisor, Sarah Perkins. All three have extensive knowledge, wisdom and experience with helping others to learn languages. Not only was it a great conference with tons of helpful info, but it was also very interactive as we were all sharing ideas for helping our colleagues learn language. One thing is very clear - learning a second (or third, fourth...) language is one of the most difficult things that one can ever do!!! It is hard!!! And anyone who says it isn't is lying!!! :)
One thing that was discussed was the difference between training and education for our learners. We want our learners to understand that we can train them to do certain things, but that they must "buy into" the "why" behind learning language if they want to experience success. That "why" keeps you going when it gets so hard, when you struggle to remember that word or phrase, when you feel like throwing in the towel. To help us understand the difference between training in learning a language and getting an education in the "why" of it is best illustrated by this video (enjoy!):
One thing that was discussed was the difference between training and education for our learners. We want our learners to understand that we can train them to do certain things, but that they must "buy into" the "why" behind learning language if they want to experience success. That "why" keeps you going when it gets so hard, when you struggle to remember that word or phrase, when you feel like throwing in the towel. To help us understand the difference between training in learning a language and getting an education in the "why" of it is best illustrated by this video (enjoy!):
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