Different times require different thinking
The challenges that 2020 has brought upon all of us around the globe, are giving without question a new meaning to the traditional teaching-learning relationship. Not only that. Traveling and learning about other countries and cultures, has now also turned into an unusual and unexpected health challenge. This very interesting year has turned our world upside down, as we now relearn to greet our family and friends with the slight touch of our elbows, face covered with masks and from what we have learned to call a ´safe´ distance. Nobody lives in the same world anymore. For an unknown and unpredictable while, we might have to get acquainted, practise and become real experts at this thinking out of the new (pandemic) box.
We have prepared for you a couple of articles on new ways of thinking out of the (pandemic) box. Preparing ourselves for a more virtual and electronic savvy world, learning a new language, is our first suggestion. Then, you´ll find some other useful and interesting strategies to help you ride these challenging changes around us.
New questions and answers
Learning a new language has become nowadays, more than ever, an essential tool for surviving theses waves of uncertainty that have been washing out what we knew and expected to happen, when all types of jobs have been falling through the cracks of this new worldwide financial situation, brought to all of us by a global health and sanitary emergency. New times. New thinking. Crisis equals opportunity. The time to acquire new tools has arrived, and learning a new language has never been more critical. So, let´s review some of the more powerful reasons to engage into an e-learning of a second, or third, or forth (!) language.
– Technology: Interested in becoming bilingual? While this may be a huge challenge, e-learning provides a great way to ensure that you too can become multilingual: videos, audio, interactive grammar correction tools, automation, chat boards, telephone, instant messaging, webcams, and much more. Multimedia can increase students’ retention rates and correct mistakes before they turn into bad and embarrassing habits.
– At your own pace: Online courses engage students throughout the learning process. Few people pick up new foreign language lessons on the first attempt; thus, repetition will help students truly master another language. While traditional class environment don’t necessarily offer you the chance to repeat lessons on the spot without disrupting the teacher and the lesson, online courses do so, and allow students to learn at their own pace, while providing a comfortable and safe environment, as well as a solid and comprehensive education.
– One-on-one learning methods: Our personalised approach to online language courses offer a variety of lesson plans and multimedia tools, in order to address your individual needs on reading, writing, listening, and speaking a new language. In this environment, a teacher is still present to foster learning and understanding of the language being taught, but a number of other tools and resources will help students learn and grow.
– Accessibility: Because they run on computer programs, you can access online foreign language courses at any time, from anywhere and while you are engaged in almost any activity that allows you have an extra focus on what you are listening. This means that you can brush up on your Spanish during your lunch break or before your morning jog, or practice English late at night without the constraints of a rigorous schedule. We also offer on-the-go mobile solutions, so without all the expenses and strenuous movements involved when having to travel, it enables you to happily enjoy and complete any coursework from anywhere, as your plans might change and also accordingly to your individual schedule needs.
– Autonomy: What a great self-help tool to get better at your self-motivating skills! Online language courses are an interesting way to challenge yourself and to grow onto a much more autonomous learner. An interesting extra bonus will be all the new technology involved on your new learning preparation and plans, as better understanding the technology involved for the “new normal” that has dropped on all of us this 2020.
To be an active learner in a virtual classroom environment may give you extra tools to better understand these unusual times and challenges, while acquiring that other language that you have always wanted to learn.
We seem to be living new and different times that require adaptation and flexibility from all of us, learning new skills and finding ways to stay positively and constructively connected. In our following article, we have prepared for you another set of different approaches on how to stay motivated and connected when a pandemic wave strikes our daily lives and routines in ways never expected. And, above all, to keep rolling, learning, loving and smiling!
Patricia C Prada Jimenez & the Blogs Team