User:Erikchilderhouse/My-Language

My-[Language] link titleis an online language-learning software produced Language House, Ltd. Its title is a modern interpretation of the use of my, with regards to [myspace], myAOL, myyahoo, in a similar fashion as the i has been sinoimous with [itunes] & [iGoogle].

My-Language is a CALL visually interactive software with language learning techniques that sets the international standard for language learning.

The software utilizes a combination of videos, images, text, and sound, with difficulty levels increasing as the learner progresses, in order to teach various vocabulary terms and grammatical functions intuitively, without repatative drills or the need for translation. Their method is called the Annimated Cognition. The goal is to teach languages the way first languages are learned.

My-Language is a UK Ltd company, with experience and values that understand the UK education curriculum and also the basic principles of language and culture in other countries, so their language products help students understand the language taught and the culture, including heritage, history and culture, local names & personalities, cities, national holidays, food, and geography of the country. At the learners speed, the aim is to connect simple words with images or videos, exactly like people learn their first language. Then new words are added in context, to create simple sentence structure. Competence in a new language is gained without any need of translation. This is achieved by naturally introducing images with words in the local language which immediately. Short video clips enhance this further!

The My-Language developers have created the technique of using Animated Cognition and applied it with Computer Assisted Education Techniques to create a program which is very effective.Instruction takes the form of a unit of lessons consisting of ten groups of four images each, with an associated word or sentence both written and spoken aloud by a native speaker of the language. Lesson topics range from grammatical forms such as verb tense or mood to specific topics such as weather, colours, geography, hot and cold and associated words or the use of money.

Unlike other language software, particular attention is focused on the culture of the language taught, hence if My-Language German is used, not only is the German language taught, but also Germany in 2008, plus it's history and culture, local names & personalities, cities, national holidays, food, and geography of the country.

Within each lesson there are sets of exercises testing listening and reading, reading, listening, writing and learn with video (for which the computer must have a good connection to the internet). The user is offered either text, sound, image or video to match against four possibilities. With a mark and/or sound chosen by the reader from the preferences menu, the program indicates whether the right or wrong choice was selected. A score from 0 to 100 is kept; it is visible during the exercise in practice mode and also test mode. There are no formal grammar guides or instructions included with the software. The program is supposed to work intuitively, however an online flash video can be viewed to fully understand how the program works.

My-Language has been designed specifically as an online teaching program for students, with all the benefits associated with using 21st century technology to learn a language, any time, any place, at home or at school. It can be used both within and outside of school. It works in conjunction with any VLE (virtual learning environment) and has been designed using the latest technology. It is not a CD product that has been reworked to 'function' online. My-Language was designed solely for seamless online usage.My-Language also has a very stable and effective Content Management System which enables 'administrators' to evolve the product if needed without any difficulty, easily and literally within seconds. This means any image, sound; video or phrase can be updated if and when it's required. This can be managed by Language House Ltd, but also the possibilities exist for teachers or authorities to tailor and update the content themselves. The full course in each language is separated into five levels.

FOUNDATION COURSE: The foundation course covers the basics. Formal and informal greetings. Questions concerning name and age. How to reach places and descriptions about the weather. There's vocabulary on food and eating out, days of the week, months, seasons and general topics for every day use on holiday or in a more formal situation. There is a general introduction followed by sentence formation with questions and answers. The my-language foundation course will make you feel confident about answering relatively simple questions. Estimated language learning tuition of 50 hours +/- depending on the speed and frequency of use. The foundation course includes 1200 phrases, images and videos from everyday situations! LEVEL 1 : BEGINNER The Beginner's course once completed will have have brought you up to speed to a competent level. There is a brief general introduction to the language, followed by more complex sentence formation, with questions and answers. You will feel confident about answering simple questions, but also feel relaxed to ask questions yourself, and feel at ease in an everyday situation. Estimated language learning tuition of 50 hours +/- depending on the speed and frequency of use. The level 1 beginner's course includes 1200 phrases, images and videos from everyday situations.

LEVEL 2 : INTERMEDIATE The Intermediate course moves your knowledge of the language to a solid intermediate level. You will be taught complex sentence formations, with more difficult questions and answers. You will feel at ease in informal business situations and more complex conversations with friends and family. You feel at ease about answering quite complex questions. Estimated language learning tuition of 50 hours +/- depending on the speed and frequency of use. The level 2 Intermediate course includes 1200 phrases, images and videos from everyday situations.

LEVEL 3 : ADVANCED An Advanced course moving quickly on from Intermediate level to an Advanced level. You will feel confident about answering questions on nearly all topics, in both formal and informal situations. Estimated language learning tuition of 50 hours +/- depending on the speed and frequency of use. The Advanced course includes 1200 phrases, images and videos from real life situations.

LEVEL 4 : EXPERT My-language will have taken you through from foundation to Expert. You should finish this level with a solid knowledge of your chosen language. At Expert level you will feel confident about answering questions on nearly all topics, in both formal and informal situations. Estimated language learning tuition of 50 hours +/- depending on the speed and frequency of use. The Expert course includes 1200 phrases, images and videos from real life situations.

Free Demos are available directly at; http://my-language.com/apps/trial/index.php. Languages Chinese Dutch English American English French German Greek Gujarati Hindi Irish Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Portugese Russian Spanish South American Spanish Swedish Polish

Criticism of version v.1 A criticism of the program is its similarity to Rossetastone software. The stark differences with My-Language is that it uses a far more user freindly modern interface. Content is localised, it uploads quickly online and videos enhace the users experiece. My-Language also does not use voice recogition software as it’s supoosed benefits cannot be proven to increase the learners ability to learn a language, hence it is wasted on the user. Performace of voice recognition software to teach a second language is still in it’s infancy, and until proven confuse the user with incorrect praie of pronunciation