In case you haven’t caught word of it in News and Features, there’s a new blog in ChinesePod town (wow, where did that come from??), and it is the ChinesePod Integrated Chinese Blog!
In case you haven’t heard of it, Integrated Chinese (IC) is perhaps the most widely used textbook in the Chinese language programs of […]
With the growing popularity of our Practice Plan, we have been looking at adding additional management tools to help support its three primary functions: needs analysis, course design and on-going speaking practice. This research has brought us in direct contact with more traditional, ‘Learning 1.0′ if you will, course management systems, such as Blackboard, Angel […]
The Practice Plan offers the chance to practice speaking Mandarin for a few minutes every day on Skype with a ChinesePod coach. (Here’s a description of the Practice Plan when it was known as the 8 Week Program, though the details differ slightly now.)
You can never reach fluency in a second (or 3rd) language […]
While Blackboard created a lot of angst in the e-learning community last year when they tried to enforce their patent on learning management systems, they are the dominant e-learning provider (helped by their WebCT acquisition) in the United States with ~80% market share. While I personally disagree with their use of proprietary, closed systems, they […]
I talked with Maria Massarini today about using memorization techniques to learn languages. Let me share my thoughts on the topic.
Ultimately, learning a language is a feat of memory. No memory, no learning. This insight is one of the key drivers of how we structure ChinesePod and SpanishSense, yet many people may not […]
via The Strength of Weak Ties blog, on the debate (distraction vs. study tool) whether or not to allow iPods in the classroom:
Better yet, maybe they could find a way to use those electronic devices in instruction. For example, could kids sit in a study hall and learn Chinese if they had an iPod? Sure […]
The Praxis Language slogan, Learning on your terms, reflects the shift towards a learner-centric future that I believe is inevitable. Learning on your terms is about empowerment, something you choose to do yourself, not something that we (or a teacher) can do to you.
OK, now listen up, everyone. I’m going to teach you on […]
Paul Dillon, over at The Learning Guys posted this week about how ChinesePod exemplifies ‘blended learning’, those hybrid combinations of online/offline ways that people are using to learn these days. There is much interest in the corporate world about the benefits of blended learning, and deserevedly so. As a consultant who actually implements these ideas, […]
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