The Language Secret Learning Concept

We are passionate language experts developing a new type of language app. We want to know what you'd like to see in a language app for the 21st century.

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

We are a small dedicated team who are passionate about languages.
We are hard at work developing a language-learning app fit for the 21st century that will be suitable for beginners and take them right the way through to C1 level.
https://t.co/uYOGASCfGD

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

Language acquisition is an intuitive process, like that of children when they develop their mother tongue.
Language learning, by contrast, is a conscious process that involves studying rules and structure.
A language app needs to combine both approaches.
https://t.co/zxSt7K816T

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

Duo's CEO: “I won’t say that with Duolingo, you can start from zero and make your 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 as good as mine.”
“But that’s also not true with learning a language in a university, that’s not true with buying books, that’s not true with any other app.”
Thoughts?
https://t.co/cLjtkbcLmu

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Mount Everest. People prepare for years, spend vast sums of money, exhaust themselves for weeks in the climb, and repeatedly put their lives at risk.
Others would rather just land on its summit in a helicopter.
AI versus human translators: a discussion
https://t.co/qXM919ZaRH

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

The new app that we are creating will use word frequency to select the vocabulary that will be featured.
Words rarely encountered in real life will be rarely encountered in our app!
https://t.co/ndmquetkQP

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

All words are equal. Some are more equal than others.
Some colours, with their word-frequency position (in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿) in brackets.
white (255)
red (309)
black (326)
green (434)
blue (459)
brown (736)
yellow (839)
grey (890)
orange (-)
Word frequency: part of The Language Secret

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

As a language coach, I tell my students not to get too hung up about their accent.
In the real world, however, people do judge us on our accent.
So, in learning your target language, do you...
a) strive to eliminate your natural intonation?
b) not worry about your accent?

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

A mixed reaction to Duolingo's eccentric sentences. I personally find them infuriating and pointless, but many of you disagree.
https://t.co/9Yl8L4z3BA

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

Duolingo is known for its 'amusing' sentences.
In the Catalan version: "Ecric que un elefant amb faldilla menja fruita."
'I write that an elephant with a skirt is eating fruit.'
Do you think these type of sentences...

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

Language apps can be useful, but successful language learning usually have to use a variety of methods.
Everybody learns in different ways, so you need to find out the right combination of techniques for you.
The Language Secret

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

@adjouaspeaks You have an African tonal-language accent

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Have you ever heard anybody say this: "Since everyone speaks English anyway, why make the effort to learn another language?"
How would you reply?

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

@sailorggvk Russian is a member of the Indo-European language family, so it is related to languages as far apart as Irish and Punjabi.
It is part of the Slavic language group, which includes Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Croatian, and many others.

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

When reading, we may soon forget 90%.
Take notes: what we remember in a couple of days will rise to about half.
Relate what we have learned, and the synaptic connection gets stronger. We retain up to 90% of what we have read.
Annoy your friends - tell them what you learned!
TLS

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

Duolingo is known for its 'amusing' sentences.
In the Catalan version: "Ecric que un elefant amb faldilla menja fruita."
'I write that an elephant with a skirt is eating fruit.'
Do you think these type of sentences...

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

African languages are sadly under-represented in language apps. We aim to rectify that. The pilot version of our app will feature an African language.
And Africans are among the most multilingual people on the planet. As this article explains well:
https://t.co/h8OYPLRgh3

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.
What do you call someone who only speaks one language? English.
(I am a polyglot Englishman, in case anybody takes offence! 😉)

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

The rise of Artificial Intelligence in language learning:
In your view, is using AI in language learning...
https://t.co/GnRzAolfoZ

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

@OwanoNancy Nobody is complaining. It's just an erroneous perception.
You are a language lover and enjoy the challenge, but many people are not, and have a different point of view. The blog is looking at things from their perspective.

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

New on our blog: Is English an easy language?
Much more detail than is possible on Twitter.
https://t.co/jVhr8iQNym

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

@OwanoNancy The question is relevant, because so many English learners feel that it is. Having lived in many countries, I hear it said all the time.
If you take the time to read the blog, you will see that there is very little about English that is easy for the non-native speaker.

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

Our blog:
Nepotism.
Why word origins matter, and how they can help us learn other languages.
https://t.co/tFUKTPchEd

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

We want to design an app that shows when the message would have been understood, even if the formulation was not 100% correct - and then show what could have been improved.
Language learners need encouragement above all other things.
https://t.co/t0JouOs9Dc

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Perfectionism is the #1 enemy of language learning.
Grammatical perfection and the ability to communicate are entirely different things.
Apps and exams pick up every mistake. Humans don't (usually) 🙄. They make an effort to understand our imperfect efforts.
The Language Secret