Time is the most valuable resource you have. And a lack of it is one of the main
reasons why many people find language learning so challenging.
Yet, many language learning companies seem to forget this basic truth and waste your scarce,
precious time with inefficient and often ineffective activities.
So today I'd like to explain how you can turn your radar on and start immediately
detecting when a language course or app is not actually helping you learn a language.
As you know, nowadays you have tons of options if you want to learn a
foreign language. And we're really happy about that because,
as Luca said in his video about whether learning a language is easy or difficult,
thanks to these countless possibilities
learning a new language has never been easier or more accessible.
By the way, don't forget to hit that subscribe button to watch all of our great free
videos about language learning.
But language education is a big industry, which in the last 10 years has become more and more competitive,
and some companies haven't been able to resist the temptation to develop courses and solutions
that are easy to sell but not actually useful or effective for learners.
So let me ask you a question: which one do you think is easier to sell?
An easy and fun method that makes users feel like they're making progress,
but that isn't optimal for learning?
Or an optimized and effective method that takes some effort from users,
but actually helps them make progress?
Well, I think we all know the answer to that one...
Now, let's play a little game: imagine that we're English speakers who are trying to learn Spanish.
On the screen you can see four images.
Can you tell me which one of these words means "dog" in Spanish?
Big surprise! The answer is "el perro"! But I bet that was pretty easy for you too,
even if you don't speak a word of Spanish.
The problem here is that the answer is too easy because you can use
the process of elimination. That's the issue with multiple choice questions,
which are often used for testing in schools because they're easy to grade,
but unfortunately it's not an effective method for learning and memorization.
Let's try another exercise! Here's a sentence that we need to translate into Spanish.
So let's make a sentence with some of the words they suggest.
Again, by process of elimination, we can answer "Los gatos usan zapatos."
I see two main problems with this exercise.
First issue: why are we translating a sentence that we will never, ever actually use?
Unfortunately, this same exercise is included in a very popular app,
which years ago asked users to translate the sentence "Cows wear purple skirts."
We were pretty sure that they had removed these kinds of sentences,
but when testing it again not too long ago, we immediately stumbled upon this useless phrase.
And the second issue I have with this activity is that it's too easy,
thanks to those words that they suggest,
and not the most helpful, especially for beginners, who in my opinion need to
focus more on improving their listening comprehension and learning useful vocabulary.
But who cares, if you can get some points or some prizes or a nice little badge in your app, right?
There are many more exercises like these out there and they all have two things in common:
First, they give you the impression that you're making progress, and second, they seem pretty fun.
But having the impression of making progress and actually making progress are two different things.
The truth is that the harder an activity is, the more you learn from it.
So all these super easy exercises aren't really making the best use of your limited time.
The second thing that I said about what these methods have in common
is actually positive: they're fun.
It is possible to have fun learning a language, but only if you do it right.
If there are too many distracting things going on on the screen,
or if fun overshadows the learning process, than you'll actually learn more slowly,
because your brain won't be 100% focused and will retain less.
Including entertainment in learning activities is part of a major trend
in the education industry, called gamification.
The idea is to use the addictive power of games to learn new things.
It's a nice idea, but as always you have to be careful not to take it to an extreme.
The fact of the matter is: learning is not a game, and as you saw earlier,
playing with a language isn't the same thing as learning it.
You can introduce fun elements into your language practice in more effective ways
by using movies, TV shows or books, for example.
So, like I said, the goal of this video is to help you detect the activities that are less likely
to help you learn a language and more likely to waste your time.
So here are a couple things that you should look out for and avoid:
Multiple choice questions, where all of the answers except one are pretty clearly wrong.
Memory games. Things that disrupt the learning process, such as countdowns and timers,
which actually induce stress and make it more difficult to memorize new information.
Games that have little or nothing to do with language learning
and, generally, any activity that seems too good to be true.
So now it's up to you!
Would you rather spend an hour a day using a method that makes it seem like
you're making some progress, and maybe provides some mindless entertainment?
Or would you rather spend ten minutes a day on a method that is slightly less fun,
because it requires concentration and effort, but actually make faster progress?
If you want to go for the second option, then our apps and courses are definitely right for you.
We decided to focus on effectiveness and efficiency to help you make the most of your time
and learn as much as possible in as little time as possible.
Also, all of our exercises are optional, so you can always skip activities or flashcards
that you don't think are useful for your particular goals.
And then, if you have some time left after those 10 minutes, you can always do
immersion activities that are actually fun, like chatting with a language partner,
watching TV series in your target language or reading a comic book.
We really respect your valuable time at MosaLingua, so I can promise you that if
you choose our apps or courses, we'll never waste a second of it.
That's all for today. I hope you have a good one!
If you learned something new from this video give it a thumbs up.
Then, hit subscribe and turn on your notifications.
Have a look around our channel for more hacks and tips.
And if you're watching on another social media platform, like or follow our page.
See you next time!