LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

Not long ago, structural pattern drills became the core of foreign-language teaching, only to fade into oblivion when the don't-memorize trend took over. The conceit behind pattern drills is simple: Given a language structure known to be grammatically correct, a variety of sentences, based on the original one, can be made made. For example: the simple Spanish structure voy a dormir , I am going to sleep, can result in voy a comer , vamos a bailar , van a estudiar , I am going to eat, we are going to dance, they are going to study. The pattern ir a , going to, is correct, ergo the resulting new sentences must also be correct. Possibly, this is what children observe when acquiring their own language. They detect patterns and build upon them. If me gustaría acompañarte is correct, me gustaría hablarte , me gustaría explicarte , me gustaría decirte , must also be correct. The structure is the same, only the verb differs. ¿ Qué vas a hacer , escribir , cantar , explicar , cocinar , ...

I have been advocating the 15-minute-a-day method for language learning for years and am still backing it. As a matter of fact, only yesterday I suggested a student of mine try it. At first glance, it appears to be an easy task to take on but difficult to adhere to because this method, which totals 91 hours of study yearly, puts the student´s character to the test. It boils down to focusing on language study for fifteen minutes every day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. I have challenged many of my students to do it, only to find that not one has been able to pursue this method for more than a month. Out of 24 hours, it would seem easy to set apart 15 minutes daily to accomplish a given task, but it isn´t. Given the nature of the brain, rituals are welcome but end up becoming boring, and boredom kills learning. I have not solved this drawback or glitch in the system, but I still believe in the 15-minute-a-day method for language learning and I am still giving the matter much though...

Everybody is set on teaching you a language. And they all have the sure-fire method that will get you to speak your target language in a few days and without effort. Everybody has the answer and the true way of learning. And this is because there is a demand for foreign-language teachers. The law of supply and demand. If you reach out there you will not find many people trying to teach you History (Learn American History with Paul, a native of Chicago), or Philosophy (Learn Philosophy the easy way from a native Greek). How about geography: "Lost in the world? Mike will teach you the elements of geography the easy way." There is no demand for that. These are not hard skills -they say- that will land you a good job. I differ, of course. Beware of teachers bearing easy methods because there are no methods, no miracle methods. And I know I have said this before, but please bear with me once more: to master a language you need daily work for ever. Strike the hot iron every si...