We’ve all been there. In the beginning, my language learning journey was fun. It was easy and I learned a lot. But I finally arrived at that dreadful question…
“Now what?”
I hated that feeling. What do I do at the end of beginner courses, when I’m now at an intermediate level?
I tell myself the same thing every time:
“I know some words…BUT I’ll study a bit more until I speak, I don’t want to make a fool of myself you know…”
And then I never speak.
Then I say, “I can’t really read anything beyond what I’ve learned, but I’m not completely new per say, so I have progressed...” Though I felt frustrated, I proceeded to pat myself on the back…
And then I quit... That is until I found Lingq. Now I don’t have to worry about speaking at all to become fluent in a language, And now I don’t want to throw in the towel when learning a language is so much fun!
And so I asked myself, why doesn’t the language learning community talk about this?
People love talking about the languages they’re learning, what they’re going to do in Italy, who their going to meet in France, what they’re going to eat in their favorite restaurant in Germany, and how Spanish changed their lives.
And that’s awesome!
We love how something like language can give us new experiences and bring us all together.
But they don’t want to talk about the underbelly, the voice in the back of everyone’s heads: The great challenge it actually is to get there and achieve fluency.
Sure, we can hear a flash of small phrases and say a couple words in the heat of passion.
But let’s be real.
It’s not going to take you to the elegant restaurants in France, The scenic outskirts of China, The picturesque alleyways of Italy, The charming locals in Pakistan, And the bustling cafes in Egypt.
So why does this happen?
Simple. We are drowning in a sea of information, tools, applications, and programs. We can never find the materials that we need the most.
So let’s cut back on the fat and see what people used to do to progress.
When people wanted to learn a language back then, you had to do one of two things:
- Have a tutor AND/OR
- Have language learning materials
Most people found themselves in the second group. In those days you needed to find whatever materials you could get your hands on. Any book, any video, any pamphlet, map, really anything.
Then you needed an English to foreign language dictionary side by side with what you were reading to even know what you were reading.
Then you needed to make flashcards to push your brain to remember what you read. You ABSORBED the content. Become induced by it.
And then and only then were you even remotely “ready” to speak: That is, if you had a tutor or native speaker.
The problem they did not foresee was this: Who could read something that is way above their level of understanding? After all, progress made was progress alone. There was no one you could ask.
What if it was way below? Too easy? Reread it again?
And most importantly, who would WANT to read something that doesn’t interest them in the first place?
Isn’t that the reason why we learn a language? Because we WANT to? Because it was interesting and fun?
These days we’re privileged to stand on the shoulders of language learners and scientists who came before us. Technology and science advances over time and new applications and platforms to learn a foreign language have been made.
Yet ask yourself one question,
For all of the things we have right now, why can’t we ALL speak a foreign language?
With the power of the computer, language learners come across beginner and introductory programs. You may know some of them. Some of them existed before us, and they certainly achieved a goal.
Their goal.
But we know the truth.
The truth is these beginner and introductory materials are just that. Beginner. Introductory.
They are not meant to take you further to fluency.
They are not going to get you to touring the local markets of Cambodia.
They are not going to get you to eating the delicate chocolates in Switzerland.
In fact, we would argue that some of these applications DON’T want you to get there but want to keep you on the wheel, chasing after your illusion of progress on THEIR platform.
And that’s why we created Lingq.
Lingq is different. None of them can do what we do best: we remove the barrier that stops intermediate learners from progressing to the next level.
Lingq is a powerful language learning application that allows you to take ANY written and accompanying audio content in a foreign language and learn it leveraging today’s cutting-edge technology with today’s pedagogical expertise.
How?
Thank the founder of Lingq, 50+ year language learner, polyglot, translator, and Canadian diplomat Steve Kaufmann.
Fluent in 20 languages including English, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, French, Italian, and many more, We took what Steve learned over his 50 year journey learning languages and made it a reality for the whole world to use,
And what he learned was this: With greater consumption of language through reading and listening comes fluency.
And greater consumption does not mean reading and listening to anything you find. It means finding content at the level you can comprehend and then feeling onward, progressing to more and more interesting and complex content.
Influenced and supported by USC professor and linguist Steven Krashen, the cultivator of the Comprehensible Input Model for second language acquisition,
Lingq is backed with cold hard linguistic theory and thousands of man hours of tested experience by the man himself, Steve and thousands of others.
Notice that speaking is not brought up AT ALL. Why? Because speaking does NOT build fluency. It builds muscle memory.
Those programs that involve speaking may seem appealing because they rave that you can speak Spanish, French, or whichever language just like that. And it’s true. You can speak the language… But not well.
Yes, your speaking skills will grow, But not your comprehension nor your understanding of the language itself.
And so if there is one takeaway from all of this, it is this: Build fluency first by extensive reading and listening. Just hold back on those sexy speaking programs. Once you can read 1 book, THEN start speaking.
It is an unfortunate misconception that speaking builds fluency. So we’re here to bring it down.
And so we made it our mission to bring fellow language learners to the one goal that we all sought for the most but could never get from any of the programs you see today: Target Language Saturation.
What?
Target Language Saturation or TLS for short.
TLS is simple: It is nothing more than increasing your vocabulary.
Really. That’s it.
But think about it. That’s exactly what reading does for language learners.
It’s amazing to think that for all the language learning programs, opinions, methodologies, and pedagogies, none of them could satisfy this one need like we can.
You may be hesitant about TLS, and that is understandable, but just trust me for now that this is your key to fluency.
If you can do this one thing you won’t regret it.
I will explain everything. For now, just read onwards the features of Lingq, and think about what they will do for you and how they factor in with TLS.
Lingq's content management system provides for easy uploads of ANY text file in 15+ different foreign languages and accompanying audio files in any format, and it includes 30+ Lingq introductory lessons with text and native voice actors for easy learning and introduction to the system.
No more being a victim to circumstance of what you get your hands on. YOU get to choose what you want to read and what YOU want to listen to.
For example, let’s say I was itching for an article in Arabic on BBC. All I have to do is go on their website, copy and paste the text that I want, and upload it. Done.
The heart of Lingq is its learning environment that includes official and community dictionaries that translate both WORD for WORD, and PHRASAL for the smoothest translations you will find anywhere on the fly.
Select any word, any phrase, and what comes out are translations written and SPOKEN at command. No more contextual or informal ambiguities. Every word, space, and punctuation mark is accounted for in BOTH dictionaries.
Just keep forgetting a word that you keep coming across over and over in your text?
Lingq’s review system allows you to rank your words that just don’t stick and put them into Lingq’s rankable flash cards, Questionnaire, and/or self-makeable questions for the most versatile and most efficient “study” session you will have in your language learning journey.
Making sure you learn words YOU want to learn and progress bottom line with a counter of all total words learned.
Living breathing forum with other Lingqers for questions, answers, learning pedagogy, and advice, including advice from active member and founder of Lingq himself, Steve.
Multifaceted language platform with 15+ languages for when you get the itch to learn a new language!
As you can see, the features will get you to TLS. It really maximizes the efficiency of learning vocabulary fast. And we mean really fast, faster than anyone that came before us.
For the longest time, language learners before us have been stumped on that one factor of language learning, the one factor that stops us from fluency: Vocabulary. Not the systems of grammar or speaking.
And so it is no surprise that beginner and introductory programs for language learners only teach that: grammar, the system of the language. It’s easy and very profitable for them…
And so we took what they were doing and flipped it 180 degrees… and gave it steroids, And in doing so we created a system for the most fun and efficient way of learning a language!
No more mindless memorization of words that don’t compel us to learn them in the first place. Why memorize mindless jargon when you could be sucked into your favorite book, video, or article?
Why memorize mindless jargon when you have a reason behind every word you read?
Of course, don’t take our word for it. Here are but a few of many testimonials that detail how Lingq has increased their vocabulary and exceeded their expectations: As a language freak I have invested a lot of time and money in language learning materials during the last ten years and, for me, NO system is as complete as LingQ.
A full Pimsleur course can cost up to US$900 (per language) and leaves the learner with a limited vocabulary. LingQ, however, genuinely offers the opportunity for the user to MASTER as many as 10 languages.
The site offers a range of content, direct translation of new words, access to tutors, help with writing and speaking and a network of supportive fellow language learners.
The best thing about the LingQ system is that there is a range of content, so you can always work with content that interests and motivates you.
--adrian rodriguez Sweden
From the standpoint of someone “in the business” (I’ve been a college professor of German for 20 years), I’m afraid that Steven Krashen’s ideas, while being received initially with some enthusiasm, have been largely ignored (or at best given lip service) both by textbook publishers and writers and by those of us engaged in the classroom.
As a foreign language teacher who appreciates these ideas (and uses them – I’m learning Russian with LinqQ and have taught myself other languages, pre-LingQ, following a similar learning philosophy and method – I’ve been deeply impressed at how Steve (Kaufmann) has appropriated these somewhat theoretical ideas into this website to a far greater extent than it has been done in the profession.
As a teacher, I am now constantly challenged to remake my classroom in order to do the same. About 7 years ago, I realized that if I were someone wanting to learn German, I’d never take my own class, and since then I’ve been experimenting.
--jim Usa
So we say yes, dabble with those apps, the hot craze of today. It’s fun. Learn what you can from them and enjoy them.
But just remember,
It won’t get you where you want to go.
That’s where we come in.
But we must make one thing clear:
This program is not for learners who are just beginning.
This is for learners that are ready for the next level,
for learners that are done with the introductory and beginner materials of yesterday.
Don’t buy this if you are not ready. This is a serious language learning tool that is very powerful yet easy to use. We urge language learners who are ready to try it now because the modern language learner deserves to know how easy it is to be speaking with the Spanish, French, Chinese, and the Arab world using the latest learning technology and pedagogy, rather than wasting their time like I did, blinded by the sea of information.
Thankfully, they offer a one-week trial period for new users to make sure they’re ready and that this product is right for them.
So choose whichever 15+ languages offer but remember that we only offer 100 trials every month, so act now so you can reserve your spot at Le Cinq.