Technology, Languages and Me.

The Limits of my Language means the Limits of My World – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Bonjour, Hola and Kon’nichiwa!

Hello everyone and welcome! My name is Amee and I’m a second year Applied Languages student at the University of Limerick in Ireland. In this blog, I am going to explore my passion for languages, different cultures and how technology influences modern language learning; starting with my own personal experiences.

As a language learner in the 21st century, I am constantly surrounded by technology. Smartphones, television, the internet and so on. Sometimes, it can be difficult to escape the burning desire to be distracted by Facebook or Netflix, however I and many others like me have found ways to turn these distractions into aids, which help and support my language learning.

As a beginner in Spanish studies, one of my greatest aids is the app Duolingo. This is a language learning app that allows users to test their competency and slowly advance through different learning stages. While is praise this app in its ability to cater to different levels and learning speeds, the consistency of the exercises can sometimes become rather monotonous, as there is little to no change in how the learner advances. Therefore although the app is excellent for both beginners and advanced learners, the monotany of repeating the same exercise over and over, can discourage one from continuing the language learning process.

Unlike Duolingo, Netflix offers a far more fun and enjoyable learning experience, to help me with my studies in advanced French, I often watch movies or series in French, either with or without the subtitles. This is an excellent resource as it offers the learner an experience that is fun, enjoyable and far less stressful than constant tests and exams. However is does present the danger of the learner becoming somewhat lazy in their approach to learning, and heading back to the old ways of allowing technology to distract us from our goals.

My study of Japanese is in a league of its own, with the amount of work that is required and the small number of resources in Ireland compared to European languages, the internet and online resources have become an invaluable part of my learning. In order to ensure that learning this new and complex language is both fun and rewarding, I often turn to YouTube to find new and innovative ways of learning a language. In particular, a channel called “Japanese From Zero” has been extremely helpful. Out of all the mediums I use, this is my favourite as the learning is interactive and unconventional, yet also practical and comes from someone who is not a native speaker of Japanese, and therefore understands the many complications that learners can encounter.

Finally, one of the digital platforms that I use most often is Google Translate. This online translation software is excellent for single word or phrase translations, however I would strongly advise against using it to translate full sentences. This is because the software fails to take context of colloquialisms into account, and can often leave with with a translation that is slightly off, or sometimes even completely wrong.

I considered many criteria when deciding which platform was my favourite. They included; how well the platform catered for different levels, how easy the platform was to use, how enjoyable the experience was and also if the platform was able to maintain my interest. With all these factors considered, YouTube became the clear favourite for me and my language learning journey.

Thank you for reading!