Recently, I've been learning from families that have young children trying to learn Spanish that certain automated programs (I mention no names!) that guide you through Spanish lessons may not be all that user-friendly or effective. Here's the deal... you use a computer microphone to submit speech. The program then tells you whether you are saying it "right" or not. I do not yet have first-hand experience with this program, but my understanding is that it either won't let you pass on to the next lesson, or it is discouraging to the child in some other way. I think this is one area where technology just cannot out-do a human. To put this into perspective, think about people you have encountered who are learning English. They may struggle through the language, and you may struggle to understand, even have to ask them to repeat a time or two. But if each syllable is not pronounced correctly, would you throw a hand up to stop them, stating that they are not doing it right? I mean, what is the goal here? For those formally studying the language for work or school, perfection might be the objective. But for most people, they just want to be able to understand and be understood in the target language.
At Croghan Language Academy, there is a real person behind the computer (who happens to have a Bachelor's in Education and a Master's in Spanish), receiving your oral submissions and returning uplifting and encouraging feedback. Mistakes are used as learning experiences, not road blocks!
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