Jonathan, I am happy that you have brought up Rosetta Stone due to the fact that I have heard many good things about the program but am not really familiar with it. However, I do know that the program uses a combination of listening as well as speaking in order to teach the target language. I would like to share an anecdote from my experience in high school language instruction. Too often teachers focus too much on the written aspect of learning a language rather than the verbal. I knew far too many students in high school who excelled at verbal comprehension, writing skills, and reading skills but found difficulty expressing themselves when they were on the spot. It is much easier to comprehend and produce fixed material in written form due to the factor of time. However, I found that though students in class were required to read in the target language, and excelled at doing so, they found it difficult to communicate in real time. As a consequence when asked questions such as “Cosa fai quando torni a casa sta sera” (What will you do when you go home tonight), students often struggled with finding words and responses often mimicked this one: “Quando um torno a casa um guardo um la televisione” (When um I go home um I will watch um television). As you stated in your caption, Rosetta Stone gives students real life situations in which they will need to evaluate the situation and respond correctly. I feel that as foreign language educators we will need to do the same. Now do not get me wrong reading, writing, and comprehension skills are vital and should be given a lot of attention but what I am trying to stress is the significance of balance when it comes to real time oral practice as well. I feel that incorporating Rosetta Stone into the curriculum may prove effective in doing this but we can obviously use other strategies such as conversions among students as well as conversations that we will have with the students as well.
Jonathan, I really like the fact that you are in your image. It shows me that you are passionate about your area of study and that you can relate to the technology you have chosen. Rosetta Stone, named after said historical artifact, is definitely a piece of software that has revolutionized the way students learn foreign languages in a technologically advancing world. Would you say that the use of software to teach a language is more effective than teaching it yourself or would you say it is better used as an extra supplement? Personally, I believe that there is no better way to learn a language than to immerse oneself into a setting where there are other people who speak it. I do appreciate your image though; it really demonstrates, clearly, a technology that has been used to teacher foreign languages.
Jonathan, I am happy that you have brought up Rosetta Stone due to the fact that I have heard many good things about the program but am not really familiar with it. However, I do know that the program uses a combination of listening as well as speaking in order to teach the target language. I would like to share an anecdote from my experience in high school language instruction. Too often teachers focus too much on the written aspect of learning a language rather than the verbal. I knew far too many students in high school who excelled at verbal comprehension, writing skills, and reading skills but found difficulty expressing themselves when they were on the spot. It is much easier to comprehend and produce fixed material in written form due to the factor of time. However, I found that though students in class were required to read in the target language, and excelled at doing so, they found it difficult to communicate in real time. As a consequence when asked questions such as “Cosa fai quando torni a casa sta sera” (What will you do when you go home tonight), students often struggled with finding words and responses often mimicked this one: “Quando um torno a casa um guardo um la televisione” (When um I go home um I will watch um television). As you stated in your caption, Rosetta Stone gives students real life situations in which they will need to evaluate the situation and respond correctly. I feel that as foreign language educators we will need to do the same. Now do not get me wrong reading, writing, and comprehension skills are vital and should be given a lot of attention but what I am trying to stress is the significance of balance when it comes to real time oral practice as well. I feel that incorporating Rosetta Stone into the curriculum may prove effective in doing this but we can obviously use other strategies such as conversions among students as well as conversations that we will have with the students as well.
ReplyDeleteJonathan, interesting photo. Can you help me understand your choice of technology?
ReplyDeleteJonathan, I really like the fact that you are in your image. It shows me that you are passionate about your area of study and that you can relate to the technology you have chosen. Rosetta Stone, named after said historical artifact, is definitely a piece of software that has revolutionized the way students learn foreign languages in a technologically advancing world. Would you say that the use of software to teach a language is more effective than teaching it yourself or would you say it is better used as an extra supplement? Personally, I believe that there is no better way to learn a language than to immerse oneself into a setting where there are other people who speak it. I do appreciate your image though; it really demonstrates, clearly, a technology that has been used to teacher foreign languages.
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