Jaci SPORQUE? Pourquoi? WHY? Why study LIVE with a native speaker? Why not listen to those free monotone audio apps? Outside of increasing your attention span with the simple engagement of a live human over a robot, there are several advantages.
No matter your language skills as a day one beginner, high school/college courses refresher student, advanced business conversations and beyond, there is simply no better and more efficient way to learn than with a native speaker.
Immersion Does it Better
Study after study has suggested that an immersion format language learning program with a native speaker not only sets you up for success with things like pronunciation, regional dialects, slang, and actual useful terms (How often do you actually have conversations that are stilted with “Hello, my name is Tom. Hi Tom, nice to meet you. Tom, how are you?) for day to day casual and professional language skills.
Assistance navigating through cultural and language norms
A native speaker will have the ‘ear’ to listen for small cues that a second language speaker may miss while focusing on exacting grammar. Native speakers will be able to differentiate between social cues of 20 years past and modern language norms. For example, in the past the business world in English speaking countries has moved away from addressing those in superior positions as Mr./Mrs to now using a “Christian” name. Or, perhaps this level of formality is critical for business conduct, such as in certain areas of Asia. A language lesson from a native speaker with cut through other needless phrases and get straight to business such as, “Now that I’ve ordered all of this fantastic tequila, how do I get my check?”
What you really need to know
A native speaker will be able to quickly explain the difference between the 4-15 different varying French words for ‘bag, luggage, hand sack, etc.’ Speaking of travel basics, did you know that some of the most useful phrases ANYWHERE are not Hi, how are you, but directional norms such as go left or right, directing front or back, window seat, etc. It’s not something that one always thinks of in advance, but the moment you have boots on the ground, you’ll realize the realistic need that a native speaker could have told you and perfected for you!
Fine tuning your listening skills
A critical element of learning a new language is heightening your listening skills. While everyone has a different learning style, most people when reading or listening to a robotic voice for hours at a time will breeze over quite a bit of information. In general comprehension and absorption rates for text and basic audio is as low as 20%! Person to person absorption is generally as high as 92%! This is why around the world lecture tours are so popular. This is why companies still spend millions a year on guest speakers and training seminars on a person to person or person to group basis.
At Touri we have hand selected professional native language instructors from around the world to provide daily 30 or 60 minute lessons that are engaging, fun and memorable. When you connect with one of our native teachers 1-on-1 via video conference call, you’ll be able to listen to a live human and absorb much faster with a natural flowing conversation. Real human feedback and natural conversation progression is critical for real world language skills.
Marc M
