6 Minute English / Can apps teach you a language?

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. PippaAnd I'm Pippa. Apps like Duolingo, Babbel and Busuu all aim to help you learn a language, but do they really help? We'll be trying to answer that question in today's episode of 6 Minute English, and as usual we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary too. NeilYes, and don't forget to head to our website for a transcript of this episode and a free worksheet to test what you've learnt. It's all at bbclearningenglish.com.

OK. Neil, let's start with a quiz question. Which of these is not a language you can learn using Duolingo? Is it: a) Latin,b) Klingon, orc) Elvish? NeilI'm going to say c) Elvish. PippaWell, we'll find out at the end of the programme. Now, people might be familiar with the app Duolingo. And then there are other apps which say they can help you learn a language quickly Bussuu and Babbel, for example. NeilAnd listeners might be familiar with how they tend to work. You get short lessons which test you on a repeated set of words.PippaRight. And many of these apps say they focus on teaching language for situations and implicit learning, rather than directly teaching language rules such as grammar. If something is implicit, it's suggested but not communicated directly. NeilYes. So, if you think about how children learn to speak their first language, it's mostly implicit they don't have lessons. But can this work for adults? PippaBBC Radio 4 programme Sliced Bread has been investigating the evidence behind language learning apps. Presenter Greg Foot spoke to language learning expert Professor Elizabeth Wonnacott, or Liz, about implicit learning. Professor Elizabeth WonnacottThere is a very big difference between being a child who gets constantly exposed to this world of language, compared with trying to learn a language a few hours a week. There is quite a bit of evidence that some explicit teaching of, for example, grammar and vocabulary is helpful. Greg FootGot you. So, it would be helpful to try to mimic what children do, which is full immersion, but realistically you're not going to get to those levels. NeilLiz says that while children learn their first language implicitly by being constantly surrounded by the language, adults are often learning for only a few hours a week. PippaYes. So, for adults trying to learn a new language, research has shown that some explicit teaching is helpful. Explicit is the opposite of implicit. So, for example, explicit grammar teaching would be somebody explaining a grammar rule to you. NeilRight. So, adults can't realistically achieve full immersion in a language like children do. Immersion means being completely surrounded by something. PippaOK. So, a mixture of the implicit teaching of the apps and some explicit teaching for example, learning grammar rules is useful. But Neil, there's limited research about just how effective these apps can be at teaching you a language.NeilIndeed, Liz Wonnacott has seen one study she thinks could be interesting though, which compares two groups of Spanish speakers learning English one using an app and one attending classes for a similar amount of time. She explains more to BBC Radio 4 programme Sliced Bread. Professor Elizabeth WonnacottThe key finding was that in some of the tests, written grammar tests, the Duolingo learners actually improved a bit more, while actually in a test where they were looking at listening the classroom learners appeared to improve more. So, it's really promising, but of course it's one particular language, in one particular app, against one particular school. PippaLiz says the key finding from the research is that the app users improved more on written tests, but the classroom learners improved more on listening tests. A key finding is the most important conclusion of a piece of research. NeilLiz says the study is promising, which means it shows signs of being positive. PippaYes. However, Liz points out the limits of the study. It's only looking at one particular language, one particular app and one particular language school. The repetition of one particular here means specific or individual, and Liz would like to see research on more apps, more types of teaching and also more different languages. NeilApps can help us learn some parts of a language, but in this study they weren't as successful at improving listening skills, and so Liz concludes that combining learning in apps with some other ways of studying is the best way to try to improve your language skills. Professor Elizabeth WonnacottProbably moving forwards, some combination of human teaching and these platforms to give us that repetition is probably going to be the right direction. NeilAs teachers, we'd also suggest doing things that help you improve different skills speaking, listening, reading and writing. So, listening to podcasts or trying to practise speaking with a language exchange partner could be things to combine with learning in apps. Find what works for you. PippaI think it's time to find out the answer to the quiz question, Neil. I asked you which language you can't learn on Duolingo... and you were right. It's c) Elvish, but you can learn Latin and Klingon, the fictional language from the TV series Star Trek, on Duolingo. And if you did want to improve your Elvish, we did find an app specifically for that. NeilRight. Let's recap the vocabulary we learned in this episode. Implicit means suggested but not communicated directly. PippaExplicit is the opposite of implicit. It means something is communicated directly. NeilImmersion is the state of being fully surrounded by something. PippaThe key finding of a research study is the most important conclusion of the research. NeilAnd the phrase one particular means specific or individual. PippaOnce again, our six minutes are up. Test what you've learned with the worksheet on our website. NeilAnd if you're interested to hear the full episode of Sliced Bread about language-learning apps and the science behind them, there's a link in the notes below this episode. Try listening on 0.5 speed or in short sections if you find it too difficult to keep up. PippaBye for now! NeilGoodbye!

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