People learn languages differently
People learn languages differently. When learning, it is important to understand which the conditions and stimuli are that help people comprehend what they have heard, express their thoughts in a spoken and written way, attend classes and do the home tasks.
At the end of the course the participants of three groups expressed their thoughts about the positive experience of acquiring the Latvian language. The summary of these experiences allows drawing the conclusions about what helps the participants learn the Latvian language:
- Positive microclimate in the group. The participants emphasize both their own mutual relations and the teacher’s skill to encourage, support and to make jokes,
- Fixed, definite structure of the classes, e.g., there is always time devoted to looking through the home tasks and answering the questions at the beginning of every class, then come listening tasks, then speaking, etc.
- Regular home tasks and their analysis.
- Phrases, vocabulary that are learned at the beginning of the course and that can be used in everyday situations, e.g., in the shops, public transport, café as well as the teacher’s encouragement to use this vocabulary. This motivates and creates the conviction that there is progress in the language acquisition.
- The possibility to get the study materials in the social networks. Participants of group # 22 tell about their experience in facebook, whereone of the participants established a section “Repetition – the mother of knowledge” and posted there all additional materials received during the classes.
- Learning materials in the internet, especially if the teacher is interested in paying attention to them during her class.
- The possibility to communicate in Latvian in the social networks.
The last three project groups have started their learning at the beginning of September. The ideas expressed by the course participants will be taken into consideration and used in the courses. May all of you succeed!
