The Language Show, London

Language Show, London Olympia

I learned 1,000 words in under 2 weeks and I'm still not happy...

We exhibited at the yearly LANGUAGE SHOW in London, for the third year running, and as usual I gave a Public Lecture on accelerated vocabulary acquisition, and how to increase your vocab learning 5 times faster than using traditional methods.

We spoke to hundreds of the visitors non-stop for three days.

During the show a gentleman approached me to say that he had bought our 200 Words a Day! Learn French Course 1 and had learned 1,000 words in less than 2 weeks, but that he was not happy.

"Would you like to know why?" he asked.

Of course we want to know why.

We have given the gentleman the means to learn 1,000 words in a couple of weeks, AND he has done it, but somewhere we are not offering enough.

He then proceeded to go into the detail of the mathematical calculations used to calculate the 'Worst Words' lessons, and felt that the calculation methodology should be changed.

I explained that Tom our resident IT programmer nerd-geek (well he's not really a nerd or a geek, but he is brainy enough to be considered one), can programme anything and he can change the algorithms, mathematical calculations etc, etc to any sensible method.

To me, the one we have is fine, it calculates your scores over all the words on which you have been tested and ranks the worst thirty, putting them in to a lesson called 'My Worst Words', and you can go to that lesson at any time. But if you can suggest a better method we will look at it carefully, and, if we agree that it is superior, and that it is practical, we will implement it.

"But hang on, you are telling me you learned 1,000 words in less than 2 weeks, so the software works, and the goal of the software is to rapidly teach vocabulary!"

Then the penny dropped!

"Are you by any chance a software programmer?" I asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am..." he said.

Bingo.

I have found that software programmers sometimes take this kind of approach. Not all of course, just a small few of them.

They are sometimes so clever at programming, and so knowledgeable about HOW the MECHANICS of a programme's code works that they can lose sight of the original goal.... which in our case is to learn loads of foreign language vocabulary fast, have tools to remember it, and consolidate this learning.

When you start to USE the language, in conversation, it becomes 'second-nature' and eventually, like training wheels on a bike, they are no longer needed. Once you are immersed in a language in a country where it is the spoken language (and preferably you 'abandon' your mother tongue) your intuition via 'the third ear' comes into play.

He then went on to say he has found a new programme with which he is learning 50 words a day! He has to input all the words into it himself, but he likes the programming in it.

Mmmm.

He promised to email us with the suggested programming changes but to date we have not heard. (Still not heard a year later in 2007) But, as I said, we can often quite easily add changes to the programming.

Anyway, my points are:

Our programme did what it says on the tin.
Don't lose sight of the goal when learning using our system (or any system).
If you do not like our programming in any way, or any feature of the courses, drop us an email or contact us via the 'Contact Us' form on our website and tell us the suggested improvements you want. We can make changes if we agree, and ....
We have made many dozens of changes from customer feedback, adding little tweaks here and there, putting things in, changing things around, adding loads of new features with each version.
In fact we are adding new things all the time to the programme, and if you buy a later version of the programme (say Course 2, having bought Course 1, it will update your earlier course, automatically adding any new changes without affecting your databases.

Don't lose sight of the woods for the trees.

Originally written:10 November, 2006
Update: 15 September, 2007.

2007 Exhibitors at the Language Show, Olympia, London

I've decided not to exhibit at this year's Language Show as we have so many other commitments, however I would encourage anyone interested in teaching or learning languages to go along.

Check out our accelerated language learning courses before and after you go to the Language Show.

The exhibitors at the 2007 Language Show, London Olympia from 2 to 4 November, 2007:

Adult Learning Inspectorate
Advance Materials
Affinitalia
Answer English
AQA
Asset Languages (OCR)
Association for Language Learning
Association of Spanish Schools in Galicia (AGAES)
Association of Spanish Schools in Malaga
Auralog
Authentik
Basque Government
BBC Active
BBC Learning English
Blue Lynx Multi-lingual Recruitment Ltd
Boardworks Ltd
Brilliant Publications
Bwrdd Yr Iaith Gymraeg/Welsh Language Board
Centro de Lenguas Modernas Universidad de Granada
Cactus Language TEFL
Caledonia Languages Abroad langauge culture adventure
Cámara De Comercio Industria Valladolid
Castilla y Leon: Think in Spanish
Castelar Centro de Estudio Hispanicos
Chateau du Broutel
CILT - the National Centre for Languages
CME Books Europe
Colegio Delibes
Consejeria de Educacion Embajada de Espana
Defence School of Languages
Department for Education and Skills
Discours Et Methode
Don Quijote
Early Start Languages
Eclipse Books
Eco Manufacturing
EDpaX
Edexel
Esperanto-Asocio de Britio
European Employment Services
European Schoolbooks Ltd
Eurotalk Interactive
From All Around The World
GADE - Association of Spanish Academies of Antigua
Gazelle Book Services Ltd
Geocenter International Ltd
Goethe Institute
Grant and Cutler Ltd
Habla con Ene S.L.
Harcourt
HarperCollins Publishers
Heinemann
Hodder Education
Hungarian Cultural Centre
IBM in Ireland
ic language
Institute of Linguists
Institute of Translation and Interpreting
Institutul Cultural Roman
Instituto Cervantes
International Academy
International House World Organisation
International Press Network Ltd
Italian Cultural Institute
Kristall International
Lanacos
Language Courses Abroad Ltd
La Jolie Ronde
Lanacos Language Courses
LBOL Language Books Online / Apple Languages
LCL International Booksellers
Le Chateau de Broutel
Learn Spanish in Valladolid
Lexus for Languages
Linguascope
London Metropolitan University
Mary Glasgow Magazines
McGraw Hill Professional
Mester Spanish Language Courses

Merrill Brink International
MLG Publishing (mini flashcards)
NASUWT
Norwich Institute for Language Education
Oxford House College
Oxford University Press
Parlance Languages Ltd
Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Ed.
Research In Motion
Romanian Cultural Institute
Rosetta Stone
RWS Group - Translation Division
School of Oriental and African Studies
Sing-a-Lang
Sing in French Ltd
Soccerlingua
Talking Dice Ltd
Talkingpen Publications
Taskmagic
Taylor and Francis - Routledge
Teachers Talking French
The British Council
The Corporate Executive Board
The French Ecole Ltd
The Japan Foundation - Language Centre
The Language Factory
The Language Stickers Company
Travellers Worldwide
TV5
UCLES - Asset Languages
Univ. Cambridge - School Classics Project
University of Strathclyde
Virtual Language Systems
Visiting International Faculty Program Teach in the USA
VSO
Workers Educational Organisation
Zador Spanish Schools

The 120 exhibitors include representation from language associations, companies giving correspondence courses, courses for families wanting to learn languages, cultural institutes.

There are always hundreds of dictionaries, and their many of their publishers, foreign embassies and ministries, language exchange programmes.

Many government departments are represented at the Language Show such as the Foreign and Commonwealth office.

If you want to know about language careers, holiday destinations, learning a language for business or pleasure, language learning holidays, language schools in the UK and abroad they are all there at the annual Language Show, London.

Language study guides are there by the thousand, and language teaching centres represented, and loads of language teaching materials on display.

Multi-media, online learning technologies feature prominently at the Language Show, London Olympia.

Also represented will are overseas property sellers, people promoting self-study courses, visitor and tourist boards, translation and interpreting companies, TV and video language courses, plus representation from universities, colleges and volunteer programmes.