W: Good evening and welcome to tonight’s program. Our guest is Dr. Charles Adams, who has sparked a great deal of attention over the past several years for his research in the area of language learning. His new book, Learning a Language over Eggs and Toast, has been on the best seller list for the past six weeks. Welcome to our program.
M: It’s a pleasure to be here.
W: Now, Dr. Adams. Tell us about the title of your book, Learning a Language over Eggs and Toast.
M: Well, one of the most important keys to learning another language is to establish a regular study program, like planning a few minutes every morning around breakfast time.
W: Now, sorry for saying this, but your ideas may sound a little simplistic to our viewers. I mean I took Spanish in high school for four years, and I didn’t become a proficient speaker of the language.
M: Well, I think there are many people that feel that way, and that’s just it. I’m not implying that we can become fluent speakers in a matter of a few minutes here and there, but rather following a regular, consistent, and focused course of study can help us on the way to the promised land of language mastery, and [1]remember there is a difference between native fluency and proficiency in a language, and I am proposing the latter.
W: So what are some of the basic keys you are suggesting in the book
M: Well, as I just mentioned, people need to plan out their study by setting realistic and attainable goals from the beginning. I mean, some people get caught up the craze of learning the language in 30 days, only to become disenchanted when they don’t perform up to their expectations. And small steps, little by little, are the key. For example, planning to learn five new vocabulary words a day and to learn to use them actively is far better than learning 30 and forgetting them the next day.
W: [2]Now you mentioned something about maximizing your learning potential by learning about your own individual learning styles. Can you elaborate on that
M: Sure. People often have different ways of learning and approach learning tasks differently. [3]Some people are visual learners who prefer to see models of the patterns they are expected to learn; others are auditory learners who favor hearing instructions, for example, over reading them. Now, our preferences are determined by many factors, for example, personality, culture, and past experience.
W: Well, Dr. Adams. What is your learning style
M: Well, I’m a very tactile learner.
W: You mean one who learns through hands-on experience
M: Exactly.
W: So, how does knowing your learning style benefit you
M: Well, this might seem a little unusual, but moving around while trying to learn and memorize material helps me a great deal. While I cut up tomatoes and onions for my omelet in the morning, I might recite aloud vocabulary to the rhythm of the knife. But it is important to remember that often our learning styles are not singular in nature, but are often very multidimensional, and we tend to learn differently in different situations.
W: So what is my learning style
M: Well, you’re going to have to read my book to find that out.
W: OK. Lately, we have heard online movies. They might be an option for us to increase our language skills and enjoy some entertainment at the same time. How can we improve our language skill with them
M: Well, [4]just sitting in front of the TV with a drink in one hand and popcorn in the other isn’t a bad way to relax and passively enjoy movies, but you won’t learn much doing it. Rather, one idea to improve your listening skills is to watch the movies with the captions turned on and pause the movie when you see and hear new expressions. Write down these words and look them up in a good English-English dictionary to understand their possible meanings. Then, think of some sample sentences for each word. In other words, learning vocabulary has little meaning if you don’t know how to use them in context.
W: We also noticed that backpacking has gained growing popularity as an opportunity to learn language and culture. What do you think of if.
M: Backpacking around the world, or at least to parts of it, can provide the ultimate experience in language and cultural training because you see things up close and personal, and you often catch glimpse of the day-to-day lives of the people. Furthermore, rather than just trying to train your listening skills of English in the classroom, [5]you can often meet people from around the world that speak English a little different. In the end, your language skills will be enriched for it. For some students, backpacking through different counties can be the ultimate learning experience.
W: Okay. Nice talking to you, Dr. Charles Adams. Thanks for joining us.
M: My pleasure.