We’re living in a digital world, so doing more and more things online is something that comes naturally for every single one of us.
From speaking with friends to watching movies and shopping. It doesn’t matter what it is.
We’re always connected and we try to save as much time as possible with every action we take.
But, is that really a good thing for all areas of our lives?
Let’s talk about learning a new language: English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Korean… which one is yours?
As I said, it’s a connected world, so learning a new language is easier than ever.
There are dozens of apps that can help you on this journey, paid and free as well - DuoLingo, Memrise, Busuu, HiNative and many others.
And, that’s not all.
It only takes one click to get in touch with an online tutor from the other side of the world.
It’s just that simple.
We get everything handed to us nowadays and things are so easier that we don’t even think about other ways of getting stuff done.
We don’t do it, even if there might be another solution to our problems, one that is far more effective than what we’re so used to.
Here, you’ll find exactly that.
A different solution to learning a new language. - In-person tutoring.
And even more, you’ll find about 3 ways in-person language tutoring can help you learn faster and better.
Let’s see how we do it, at TUTOROO:
- Real human interaction.
As great as online learning is, nothing can beat real face to face human interaction.
Learning a language is not all about words.
It's about expressions, body gestures, nonverbal signs.
And, you can't learn that online.
Especially if you’re a beginner and you are still taking baby steps getting to know and understand a culture totally different than yours.
When you're right across the table from your tutor and he/she is explaining a new phrase, you're well aware of all the details and aspects that go into that phrase.
That’s how people can right now start learning foreign languages like French in Sydney or Spanish in Singapore with the help of foreign native speakers in their city, or also discover and learn how to speak local languages with a Dutch teacher in Amsterdam, a native Xhosa tutor in Cape Town, South Africa, or a native Turkish speaker with a native Turkish teacher in Istanbul, for instance.
With face-to-face, in-person private lessons, you will always be able to notice the facial expression, the body position, and you can even feel the “tension” in the air.
Many studies have been made on this subject, in order to figure out what’s more effective: in-person learning, or learning through other methods.
For example, a 2009 research called “Foundations for a New Science of Learning” found that:
“The need for social interaction in language learning is shown by foreign-language learning experiments. 9-month-old infants experienced 12 sessions of Mandarin Chinese through (a) natural interaction with a Chinese speaker (left) or the identical linguistic information delivered via television (right) or audiotape (not shown). (b) Natural interaction resulted in significant learning of Mandarin phonemes when compared to a Control group who participated in interaction using English (left panel). No learning occurred from television or audiotaped presentations (middle panel)”. (Source)
2. Focus
It’s hard to maintain focus when you’re trying to learn something new with your eyes stuck to a screen.
There are so many distractions that can get in your way: your phone is ringing, you get a message on Facebook, the power goes off or the internet connection fails.