Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.

com/resources

Student Copy
Can I successfully learn a language
online?
Technology has changed the way people learn and access education,
particularly languages. But can you successfully master a language only
using online tools?

"T here are more people actively learning a language through

DuoLingo than in the entire US public school system," says Luis von Ahn,
founder of the free language learning app. Since its launch in 2012, more
than 30 million people have downloaded the 2013 Apple app of the year,
which gamified education and attracted new demographics of language
learners.

The growth of technology for educational use has transformed the way in
which people learn and access education. This is particularly true for
languages, an area in which the explosion of mobile apps and interactive
software has provided choice to a range of people who were previously
unable to access foreign language education.

Von Ahn says that when he founded DuoLingo he was determined to find a
way for people to learn a language for free. "There's an irony that the people
who need to learn a language the most don't have much money, but
learning a language costs a lot."

Free access to languages was something Von Ahn had a personal interest in
addressing: he grew up in Guatemala, where he was surrounded by people
all trying to learn English, half of whom were failing to do so and the
majority of whom could not afford it.

One of the big changes caused by tech is the demographic shift in language
learners. Languages have long been associated with the elite, but now
people from less privileged backgrounds are finding affordable ways to
learn. English remains the resoundingly most-in-demand language – the
British Council estimates that by 2020, 2 billion people will be learning
English across the world – due in large part to the advantage it offers
economic migrants.

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

To learn with online tools, users need a smartphone or an internet

connection, but Von Ahn says that's not as unrealistic a scenario as it might
seem. "In the lower middle classes of developing countries like Guatemala,
they usually have a smartphone – a lower-end Android phone," he says.

Provider of online lessons with tutors in their native countries italki also
wants to see tech being used to make learning more accessible. Comparing
the language learning social network to the sharing economies of startups
such as Taskrabbit and AirBnB, italki's chief executive, Kevin Chen, says:
"Our belief is that helping people connect is helping students that were
previously unable to get access to native teachers, and teachers that were
previously unable to teach students outside of their cities."

Rosetta Stone, the longstanding provider of language-learning software,

has poured time and resources into its research of the market and
concluded that mobile is the way forward. Rosetta Stone has added apps to
its suite of language-learning tools. "Mobile is becoming the big disrupter to
traditional self-paced learning," says Donavan Whyte, vice president of
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). "We're getting increases every
week on the number of people accessing the app. People are so hooked on
being mobile, whether that's an iPad or any other device they can lug
around."

Von Ahn says an unexpected result of DuoLingo being an app is that it's
attracted an unlikely type of user. DuoLingo was designed to be like a game,
and what the company has found is that many users aren't even necessarily
diehard language fans, they're just looking for an educational way to kill
some time.

"They're still procrastinating from something else, but at least it's

somewhat useful," says Von Ahn. "The truth of the matter is that learning a
language takes months or years. We have to find a way to keep them
interested and that's where the gamification came in."

For Whyte, technology is also making education more personalised. Users

will be able to pinpoint their specific needs, be that tailoring a classroom
lesson to the interests of a particular age group, or learning the basics for a
holiday abroad.

Chen says that technology is not only offering the personalisation, but is
encouraging users to take a more active approach to their learning. "There
is a sense from [italki] students that they have to take responsibility for
their own education," he says. "More and more students are trying non-
traditional methods to educate themselves, and this has made it a great
time to be an education technology startup."

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

While advances in tech may have created opportunities for more people to
access education, the question remains as to whether it is actually possible
to learn a language only using online tools.

"It depends what you mean by learn a language," says Von Ahn. "You can
learn to the point where you can navigate and have relatively simple
conversations but you probably won't be writing any great works of
literature."

Whyte thinks that technology wouldn't remove the need to be very

motivated to learn: "I think it is possible to learn a language on your own
via some tech-based platform, but I think it would take you a long, long
time and you would need to be very disciplined."

Whyte and Chen agree that online tools are going to be most effective when
used as one component of a bigger arsenal of learning tools.

"Education should come from as many different sources as possible," says

Chen. "Education will be personalised for the student, so that they can learn
in the most efficient way for them. For italki, we're just one piece of this
ecosystem."

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

Teacher Copy
Can I successfully learn a language
online?
Technology has changed the way people learn and access education,
particularly languages. But can you successfully master a language only
using online tools?

"T here are more people actively learning a language through

Duolingo than in the entire US public school system," says Luis von Ahn,
founder of the free language learning app. Since its launch in 2012, more
than 30 million people have downloaded the 2013 Apple app of the year,
which gamified education and attracted new demographics of language
learners.

The growth of technology for educational use has transformed the way in
which people learn and access education. This is particularly true for
languages, an area in which the explosion of mobile apps and interactive
software has provided choice to a range of people who were previously
unable to access foreign language education.

Von Ahn says that when he founded DuoLingo he was determined to find a
way for people to learn a language for free. "There's an irony that the people
who need to learn a language the most don't have much money, but
learning a language costs a lot."

Free access to languages was something Von Ahn had a personal interest in
addressing: he grew up in Guatemala, where he was surrounded by people
all trying to learn English, half of whom were failing to do so and the
majority of whom could not afford it.

One of the big changes caused by tech is the demographic shift in language
learners. Languages have long been associated with the elite, but now
people from less privileged backgrounds are finding affordable ways to
learn. English remains the resoundingly most-in-demand language – the
British Council estimates that by 2020, 2 billion people will be learning
English across the world – due in large part to the advantage it offers
economic migrants.

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

To learn with online tools, users need a smartphone or an internet

connection, but Von Ahn says that's not as unrealistic a scenario as it might
seem. "In the lower middle classes of developing countries like Guatemala,
they usually have a smartphone – a lower-end Android phone," he says.

Provider of online lessons with tutors in their native countries italki also
wants to see tech being used to make learning more accessible. Comparing
the language learning social network to the sharing economies of startups
such as Taskrabbit and AirBnB, italki's chief executive, Kevin Chen, says:
"Our belief is that helping people connect is helping students that were
previously unable to get access to native teachers, and teachers that were
previously unable to teach students outside of their cities."

Rosetta Stone, the longstanding provider of language-learning software,

has poured time and resources into its research of the market and
concluded that mobile is the way forward. Rosetta Stone has added apps to
its suite of language-learning tools. "Mobile is becoming the big disrupter to
traditional self-paced learning," says Donavan Whyte, vice president of
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). "We're getting increases every
week on the number of people accessing the app. People are so hooked on
being mobile, whether that's an iPad or any other device they can lug
around."

Von Ahn says an unexpected result of DuoLingo being an app is that it's
attracted an unlikely type of user. DuoLingo was designed to be like a game,
and what the company has found is that many users aren't even necessarily
diehard language fans, they're just looking for an educational way to kill
some time.

"They're still procrastinating from something else, but at least it's

somewhat useful," says Von Ahn. "The truth of the matter is that learning a
language takes months or years. We have to find a way to keep them
interested and that's where the gamification came in."

For Whyte, technology is also making education more personalised. Users

will be able to pinpoint their specific needs, be that tailoring a classroom
lesson to the interests of a particular age group, or learning the basics for a
holiday abroad.

Chen says that technology is not only offering the personalisation, but is
encouraging users to take a more active approach to their learning. "There
is a sense from [italki] students that they have to take responsibility for
their own education," he says. "More and more students are trying non-
traditional methods to educate themselves, and this has made it a great
time to be an education technology startup."

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

While advances in tech may have created opportunities for more people to
access education, the question remains as to whether it is actually possible
to learn a language only using online tools.

"It depends what you mean by learn a language," says Von Ahn. "You can
learn to the point where you can navigate and have relatively simple
conversations but you probably won't be writing any great works of
literature."

Whyte thinks that technology wouldn't remove the need to be very

motivated to learn: "I think it is possible to learn a language on your own
via some tech-based platform, but I think it would take you a long, long
time and you would need to be very disciplined."

Whyte and Chen agree that online tools are going to be most effective when
used as one component of a bigger arsenal of learning tools.

"Education should come from as many different sources as possible," says

Chen. "Education will be personalised for the student, so that they can learn
in the most efficient way for them. For italki, we're just one piece of this
ecosystem."

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

Homework
Can I successfully learn a language
online?
1 - Comprehension – In your own words, please answer the following
Questions
1. What life experience influenced Luis von Ahn to start Duolingo? (Page 2)
2. Which technology do Rosetta Stone think will change the market in the future? Why? (Page
2)
3. What unlikely type of user does Duolingo attract? (Page 2)
4. Does Donovan Whyte think that students can learn a language fluently online? (Page 3)

2 - Match the vocabulary to the sentence

launched tailor afford

shift low-end hooked
kill time procrastinating pinpoint

1. I was a terrible student in university, I had a terrible habit of ___________ when I had to
study.
2. I’d love to go on holiday to India at some point but I just can’t ___________ it right now.
3. We’re seeing a _________ in the number of teenagers choosing to study philosophy, it’s a
lot more common now than it used to be.
4. I don’t know what the underlying problem is but we need to __________ it if we want to fix
the problem.
5. While you’re buying new clothes, I’m just going to _________ some _________ in the
arcade.
6. If you don’t have much money at the moment, just buy a _____________ phone until you
can save up to buy an iPhone.
7. “I’m doing great, I just __________ a new online business earlier this year, actually. It’s going
well.”
8. These days, everyone is __________ on their mobile phones.
9. This shop is great, you can buy all your clothes ____________-made.

3 – Vocabulary Follow Up
1. How difficult would it be to launch a business?
2. Have you ever bought tailored clothes?
3. Do you normally buy high-end technology brands or are you not too bothered?
4. Have you seen any cultural shifts in recent years?
5. Do you think people are hooked on their phones these days?
6. What do you like to do if you have time to kill?

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

7. Do you ever procrastinate? What can you do to stop it?

Class conversation Q’s

1. What are your thoughts on online language learning? Can it be as effective (or even more)
than in-class learning?
2. Have you tried any Rosetta Stone/Duolingo type apps in the past? What was your experience?
3. Do you think language learning has become more accessible to the world’s poorest countries?
4. How much would you estimate it costs the average person to learn a language? How much
have you spent?
5. How often do people end up giving up on learning a language? What are the typical reasons?
6. Has improving technology made language learning more fun?
7. What is ‘gamifying’ and has it improved language learning?
8. How long does it take to learn a language (to C1 level)?
9. Do you think it’s possible to learn a language without talking to other people? Online?
10. How important is motivation/discipline when learning a language?

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

How to guide for articles and activity sheet

What can the article be used for?
 Group classes
 Individual classes
 Online or in-person
 The article should take a minimum of 30 minutes to work through. If you have a chatty class,
this could go as far as 45 minutes to an hour.
 Homework for motivated students to do between classes (could also be used as an in-class
reading/conversation activity).
 Best results obtained with mature, self-motivated students (16 years old +).

Why use articles in an English class?

As TEFL teachers, whether online or in-person, giving one-to-one classes or with large groups, we all
will recognise that it can, at times, be difficult to provide materials which will engage, challenge and
motivate your students to talk during the class.

Students are often reluctant to speak in class, which inevitably ends up causing more problems
further down the line when they need to converse with someone in English. Textbooks tend to be
dull and contain generic topics which often fail to inspire students. Conversations without any
materials to guide you often run out of steam quite quickly.

The solution to this problem is to use an article with an associated activity sheet in the class to
facilitate the conversation.

You can send the article along with the associated homework to your students before the class so
they can review and complete the necessary parts of the homework (if they desire) between classes.
Alternatively, you can do the entire activity during the class.

It’s a win-win. Your students feel they’re getting value for money with customised exercises. You, as
the teacher, reduce your planning time and have a solid foundation from which to build a
meaningful conversation with your student which will challenge them and help them to build their
speaking proficiency.

The Article
Articles are selected from a range of media outlets online. The topics and difficulty level vary, with
care taken not to select any articles which may cause offence or provoke angry discussions in class!

There are two documents for each article;

1. ORIGINAL - Contains the text of the article and nothing more. To be given to students to
read.
2. TEACHER – To be seen by the teacher only. Contains the article, but with highlighted words
and phrases which can guide the teacher during the class and help facilitate discussion.
Vocabulary used in the homework (as well as other interesting words) is highlighted in
YELLOW. Answers to the comprehension section highlighted in LIGHT BLUE.

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

 Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources

The Homework
Each article comes with an accompanying homework which students can use to guide them through
the article and test their understanding of the text. Answers can be written or simply remembered –
as per the student preference.

Exercise 1 - Comprehension
Questions designed to test the student’s understanding of the information presented in the article.
The answers can be reviewed through conversation with the student.

Exercise 2 - Vocabulary
The student has to match interesting vocabulary taken from the article with the correct sentence.

Exercise 3 – Vocabulary follow-up

This exercise is best to be done in class. Contains various questions to encourage the student to use
the target vocabulary from exercise 2.

Exercise 4 – Classroom conversation questions

Additional questions, based on some of the themes in the article, to encourage a meaningful and
interesting conversation based upon the themes contained in the article. Typically lasts at least 15
minutes.

Additional information
Using these articles and the associated activities is an easy and fun way to facilitate interesting and
challenging conversations in the classroom.

If you’ve found this activity to be valuable, check out www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources for

more information on how to get your hands on some more.

As they say, “time is money” and having access to these pre-prepared activities will save you A LOT
of time, not to mention increasing your standing among your students.

Thanks for reading,

Find dozens more great articles at www.peterbeatonenglish.com/resources