The Importance of Effective Support in Language Learning

There are many different ways to learn a language.

This ranges from the way we learn our first language, by being physically immersed in it, to classroom based teaching methods, to solo methods such as book learning, and to more technological methods such as online language courses.

One thing that all these methods typically have in common is this: it is difficult to learn a language on your own. Because of this, language learning is often more successful for students who have access to effective support.

Why is support so important in language learning?

Learning something brand new can be a difficult task. This is especially true for those students who are learning a language, which involves memorising a great deal of vocabulary, grammar rules and pronunciation techniques.

In the past, language schools were generally considered a much better option for language learning than self-study techniques such as textbooks and taped language lessons. There are a number of reasons for this, but one of the key ones is that students who approached learning a language in the classroom would have the benefit of support from both their language teacher and their fellow students.

This support is vital. When a student has the support of the people around them, they are far more likely to remain enthusiastic and positive about the practice of studying. They are also less likely to give up, as support from the people around you can create a form of accountability.

Much of the valuable support for language learning comes from the community created around language courses. This includes group work in the classroom, joint homework projects and conversational practice. When students build friendships in and outside the classroom this can also be very helpful.

How can you make sure the support you’re offering is effective?

Of course, though community is a very important part of language learning, this isn’t the only way to offer support for language students.

It’s also very important for students to receive help, support and encouragement from their teachers and tutors.

If you’re unsure about whether the support your organisation is currently offering students is effective, it might be useful to consider how actionable the support in question is.

For example, the most helpful support is often very specific. In order to successfully ensure your students are improving their language skills, it’s vital for their teachers to have a strong understanding of how well each student is performing.

The best way to do this is to have a comprehensive assessment, monitoring and analytics programme in place. This can empower teachers to better support their students as they will know exactly where each student is academically, and which specific areas and skills they need to work on in order to progress to the next level.

Is it possible to offer effective support via online language courses?

There is an idea that in language learning students need to choose between either flexible, convenient learning or personalised support. Thankfully, this is a myth.

Online language courses now offer an extremely attractive alternative to traditional classroom based language learning. They do this by building online communities that are every bit as diverse and welcoming as in person communities. They also seek to build strong links between tutors and students with virtual classroom provision and new ways of staying in contact.

Most online language courses, including the Dexway method, take into account the importance of effective support from tutors, an accessible community and exhaustive monitoring.

When used together, these three methods offer a very effective form of support for students of online language courses.

What is the support provision in the Dexway method?

The Dexway method incorporates a wide range of features and tools that offer support to students. This includes:

An impressive array of student monitoring and evaluation tools
A range of automated assessment levels
Twenty four hour instant access to conversation groups with fellow students from around the world
The most advanced voice recognition software on the market, put in place in order to ensure students receive instant feedback and support on their pronunciation

Thanks to the Dexway method, students of our online language courses have access to a wide range of support opportunities, from the software, tutors, and their fellow learners.

Would you like to learn more about the Dexway method and how it might be beneficial to your organisation? We work with partners across many industries, such as corporate businesses, secondary and higher education providers, language schools and libraries.

if you’re considering joining the leading global provider of online language solutions, please get in touch to request a free consultation. Together we’ll explore whether the Dexway method is right for you.

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