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The UK’s Best Board or Card Game is a language game!

September 29th, 2011|Tags: , , , , |

The Best Board in Britain teaches foreign languages! KLOO - BEST BOARD OR CARD GAME We are very proud to say that KLOO has been recognised by ToyTalk as Britain's Best Board or Card game. This is great news for the language learning community. It means that language teachers have a resource that happens to be the best in category against all comers - not just language games. To win top prize, KLOO had to beat off stiff competition from the giants of the games industry including the likes of Raveneberger's "Labyrinth", Gibsons [...]

The importance of games in language learning

May 17th, 2011|Tags: , , , , , , |

Language Games prove their value KLOO's Race to Madrid to learn Spanish A well designed game can simulate real life. Monopoly simulates the property market while flight simulators let pilots play at flying a plane before they are let loose on a real one. There are even war games. Countries don't want to gain experience of war by going to war - so they simulate it. Simulation is a fancy word for "make believe" (as my children call it). It's an elaborate game. Turning language into a game I have worked with games [...]

Professor Lonergan: Play to learn a second language fast

May 12th, 2011|Tags: , , , , |

Playing MFL Games and learning a second language Jack Lonergan - Language Professor I was fortunate to have a coffee with Professor Jack Lonergan in a hotel near St Albans. Jack is amongst other things a Director of LTL Training, author, media producer and Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics. As an author of over twenty books on language and language learning, he is an undisputed expert in this field. He was kind enough to cast his eye over a KLOO language Games prototype and give me feedback. I took great interest, therefore, when the [...]

5 Easy Ways to learn a Foreign Language at Home – Part 5

January 6th, 2011|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Better than magic – the best way to learn a second language Learning a language as if by magic? I remember as an eight year old, asking my mother if I could take a rug into the garden. With her permission, I laid it out in the middle of the lawn and closed my eyes. Concentrating hard, and with firm conviction, I uttered the special magic words to make my carpet fly. It did not move. The problem was clear: I was using the wrong words. I resolutely stuck to my task, using [...]

5 Easy Ways to learn a Foreign Language at Home – Part 4

December 21st, 2010|Tags: , , , , |

How to save time and money learning a foreign language Buying the right language product is like buying a diamond - you need to know what to look for. I recently walked into a jewellery shop to buy a ring for my wife. As the door swung shut behind me and I realised I was the only customer – trapped between rows of twinkling gems and several very gimlet eyed sales people. Beads of sweat broke out on my forehead. It is not so much the high cost of some very small things [...]

5 Easy Ways to learn a Foreign Language at Home – Part 3

November 29th, 2010|Tags: , , , |

The bird brain approach to learning a foreign language Stress of finding language resources? Researchers - with far too much time on their hands - recently assessed the pressure that men are under when they go shopping. They wired them up to sensors and were astonished to find that when shopping, many men are under the same stress as a fighter pilot going into battle. This would be hilarious, except I have a strong suspicion that I am one of these panic stricken men. At Christmas time, I can be seen darting around department [...]

5 Easy Ways to learn a Foreign Language at Home – Part 1

November 11th, 2010|Tags: , , |

Best way to acquire a second language - Part 1 Use foreign words to label household items Research has shown that the level of language “input” is an important factor in how well you learn your new language. On the other hand, setting aside daily dedicated study time can be difficult. One trick, therefore, is to make your second language a part of everyday life – so that learning becomes automatic and easy. Over the coming days Language Pie will post 5 methods to get everyday exposure to your new language and power [...]

Foreign Language Resource No. 5: Make it Generative, Mr Spock

October 28th, 2010|Tags: , , , |

Putting foreign words in sentences helps them stick! Use foreign words as building blocks to make sentences The final part to my learning a foreign language tips is to make it "generative!". It sounds technical but essentially it means that you should use words as building blocks to create sentences rather than learn them as discreet words that don't connect. Many language learning systems encourage you learn words by rote or in blocks. This leads to a horrible phenomenon called Systematic Forgetting. You may have experienced it. You can remember the words for [...]

Foreign Language Resource No. 4: Don’t Learn – Discover!

October 20th, 2010|Tags: , , |

Don't learn a foreign language - Discover It! Here's an odd thing. Discovery is the most powerful way to learn. When we were small our parents did not give us lists of foreign words for us to learn for tomorrow morning . That would have been be ridiculous, right? What actually happened was that we pointed at things we wanted to know the word for (such as a ball), our parents told us what is was and we repeated it. It seemed easy and natural and we all went on to be fluent [...]

Foreign Language Resource No. 3: Make Learning Fun

October 13th, 2010|Tags: , , , |

Fun Foreign Language Resources make the difference Have fun together and learn together A time for honesty. Learning a foreign language can be difficult and, well, tedious. You shouldn't say it - but for many people it is. Learning vocabulary by rote has to be one of the world's most mind numbing activities - right up there with ironing shirts. Technical grammar can make your brain hurt. By the time you get to conjugations you are screaming "is this absolutely necessary!". Luckily, the answer is no! This is not necessary! If you are experiencing all [...]

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