Further French (Linkword Language System S.)

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Sommer S. and Gruneberg M (2002) The use of Linkword Language computer courses in a Classroom situation; A case study at Rugby school. Language Learning Journal, 26, 48-53

Dr Gruneberg has also published a large number of studies in refereed journals showing the effectiveness of his Linkword courses. We know of no other language course where performance levels have been published. Not only have the studies shown how fast is learning with Linkword, but how much more enjoyable learning is as well and how much it boosts confidence. More about Dr Gruneberg

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A second study which was carried out in another well known school, compared a group of pupils who were dyslexic with another group of students who were of average ability at language learning. Before the study started, all students were given a vocabulary test in French and it was found that dyslexic learners were significantly poorer in their vocabulary knowledge. By the time you finish one of our level 4 courses you will have a really extensive vocabulary (approximately 1200 words) and associated grammar. It can’t be the dog’s fault nor the cat’s –‘nor’ connects the idea that neither the cat or dog was at fault.

Studies we have conducted showed that a group of manages at Thomson holidays learned a vocabulary of 400 words AND a basic Grammar in 12 hours- about 3 times faster than normal as assessed by an independent assessor. In fact an assessment of normal learning of languages by school children in the UK found that on average they learned only about 800-900 words in 4 years!! What is the evidence it works for dyslexics and poor learners? By asking learners to make the effort of picturing the images in their mind’s eye, much more effort is going into the processing of incoming information than is the case of looking at a picture.Gruneberg M , Sykes R and Gillett E. (1994). The facilitating effect of Mnemonic strategies on two learning tasks in learning disabled adults. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 4, 241-254

The mnemonic videos are an excellent way to teach a foreign language to any student, but particularly those who are dyslexic. The visual component and the mnemonic are a powerful combination to help with memorization. It is also an enjoyable way to learn vocabulary and grammar. I’ve taught more traditional methods, and I believe this is the best. The keyword mnemonic is certainly an effective technique, particularly for learning to read in another language, as opposed to writing or talking (where you have to actively remember the words you want, rather than simply recognize them when you see them). But I wouldn't advocate using the keyword mnemonic on 1000 words, or even most of them. I would keep it for the hard words. ( Read more on the usefulness of the keyword mnemonic for learning vocabulary. Find out what the keyword method is here) Linkword I have had difficulty reading and spelling all my life as I suffer from dyslexia. I live in mid Portugal. I decided to give it a try. To my amazement it was working for me. I am totally hooked” More than 750,000 people have already enjoyed learning and greatly boosted their language confidence with Linkword. Linking words are words that connect ideas together in a piece of writing. It shows that two things are related in some way, or that the point you are making has supporting information. The difference between linking words and simple paragraph starters that we looked at previously, is that linking words can be found at the start of paragraphs, but also in the middle of sentences to connect two ideas together too. Why Should I Learn Linking Words/Connecting Words?

The answer to this one is fairly straightforward. If you don’t know a variety of linking words to connect ideas together in a piece of writing, then you’re writing won’t make sense. In the very best case here, your reader will become confused and fail to follow the message you are trying to get across in your writing, because the bits of text that should ordinarily fit together, just won’t without the linking words there to connect them.

Although the method has been around since at least the 19th century, the first studies proving it worked were done some 50 years ago. They showed that learning vocabulary with this method was about 3 times faster than normal learning. At least 100 studies since then have shown that the method is very significantly faster that a variety of alternatives including the normal rote learning. Using this method, Tim Ferriss of the FOUR HOUR WEEK fame claimed you can learn 200-300 words in a day and 1200 word in a few weeks.Pimsleur is a tried and tested language-learning programme. Ideal for people who are not academic or prefer learning by doing, Pimsleur focuses on speaking and listening, rather than reading and writing. Personally, I have used this many times, and I have even written a more [etailed review on the Pimsleur course for Japanese. Software courses will run on a PC (Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, and versions 7-11) and on Macs (all Mac OS X versions). Gruneberg M and Sykes R (1991) Individual differences in attitudes to the keyword method of foreign language learning. Language Learning Journal.4, 60-62 Popular Memory Books Linkword Languages courses are developed by Dr Michael Gruneberg, an internationally recognised expert in memory and learning methods. As far as I can tell, Linkword Languages presently offers “complete” courses in French, German, Italian, and Spanish (European) and “survival” courses in Arabic, Cantonese, Chinese (Mandarin), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi (Urdu), Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish (European), Spanish (Latin American), Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Welsh.