Language Learning Express - a language learning tool for working on authentic material

<table class="intro" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="720"> <tr> <td width="720" height="140" valign="top"> <img border="0" src="GIF/tgv.jpg" width="98" height="69" align="texttop" style="position: relative; top: 3; left: 315;"> <table class="intro" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="395" style="position: relative; top: -59; left: 13;"> <tr> <td width="395"><b>The Language Learning Express...</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="395" height="5"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="395"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> is an efficient language learning tool</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="395"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> supplies all you need at your finger tips</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="395"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> encourages you to use material that interests you</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="395"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> can be used to study virtually any language</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="395"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> makes language learning easy and fun</td> </tr> </table> <table class="intro" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="298" style="position: relative; top: -173; left: 425"> <tr> <td width="298"><b>gives you the ability to...</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="298" height="5"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="298"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> <a href="usage_body.htm#Lookup" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm#Lookup');return false;">look up words</a> and grammar points</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="298"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> <a href="usage_body.htm#marking" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm#marking');return false;">mark words in different colors</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="298"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> <a href="usage_body.htm#text_exercise" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm#text_exercise');return false;">turn marked texts into exercises</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="298"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> <a href="usage_body.htm#the_glossary" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm#the_glossary');return false;">build up your own glossary</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="298"><img border="0" src="GIF/check_mark1.gif" align="absbottom" width="17" height="15"> <a href="usage_body.htm#glossary_exercise" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm#glossary_exercise');return false;">make glossary exercises</a> and more</td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>  <div align="left"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" height="100%" class="frame_body"> <tr><A name=interesting></a> <td width="3%"></td> <td width="96%"> <br> <a target="_blank" href="advanced_english.htm" style="cursor: default;"> <img border="0" src="GIF/GardenerUserS_1.jpg" align="left"></a> <h1>Authentic Material</h1>Language Learning Express, or Lex for short, is a language learning tool where you, as a learner, use authentic material that interests you as a starting point for language learning. The learning will be much easier if you have a genuine interest in the material that you work on. It will also be more efficient because you are more likely to remember words that you really want to know.<table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> Lex contains a Web browser by which you can find interesting material on the World Wide Web. If you are interested in plants and flowers you read about that. If you are interested in song lyrics, movie scripts or something else you work on that.<table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> The important thing is that you are focused on the content and really want to understand what a web page is all about. In this process a lot of questions will naturally pop up. The most common one being: <i>What does the word mean?</i> Then again, Lex will make you turn to the Web to find an answer to that question and to others you may have.</td> <td width="1%"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom"></td> <td> <br><A name=fingertips></A><br> <a target="_blank" href="create_your_own_glossary.htm" style="cursor: default;"> <img border="0" src="GIF/UserOnBooksS.jpg" align="left"></a> <h1>All at Your Fingertips</h1> Language Learning Express supplies everything you need as a language learner at your fingertips. It's a tool through which you will be able to use the vast amount of material available on the World Wide Web for the purpose of language learning. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> When you have found an interesting site to work on you can easily look up words, listen to pronunciations, highlight words and make your own text exercises. Lex uses various sites on the Web to look up words in both bilingual and monolingual dictionaries. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> As part of the look up process you can build up your own glossary, which later on can be used to make glossary exercises. To look up grammar points you simply navigate to grammar sites, either in your target language or in your native language. Thanks to Lex you will no longer have to spend a lot of time searching in books, like dictionaries and grammars. You can instead let the computer do all the tedious searching and focus your efforts on the language issues themselves. See <a href="usage_body.htm" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm');return false;"> Features</a> for more information.</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td> <br><A name=learning_tool></A><br> <a target="_blank" href="autonomy.htm" style="cursor: default;"> <img border="0" src="GIF/UserInLoveS.jpg" align="left"></a> <h1>A Learning Tool</h1>Language Learning Express is a learning tool. It is designed for the language learner, rather than the language teacher, but you, as a language learner, will benefit more from it if you use it in cooperation with a teacher. The teacher can then prepare texts and make them available on the Web and you can access them and work on them on your computer along with other material that you find on your own. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> The fact that Lex is a tool for the learner does not mean that it replaces the teacher. The teacher plays a key role in the language learning process and the teacher is irreplaceable when it comes to answer questions and to explain grammatical difficulties. The time spent together with a teacher, the lesson time, should consequently be devoted to areas where the participation of a teacher is essential. Lesson time is, however, in most cases limited and it is therefore important that you, as a learner, also make efficient use of the time in between lessons. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> This is where Lex comes in. It enhances your capacity to work on your own. The amount of progress that you make in between lessons determines how much new knowledge that you can acquire from the teacher during lessons. By using Lex you can prepare yourself for upcoming lessons and since all your material is stored on the computer you can use Lex for efficient repetition and revision. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> Lex is a language learning tool, not a language learning method. Being a tool, it can be used in conjunction with various language learning methods and of course also with other language learning tools such as CD's, tapes, podcasts, etc.</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td> <br><A name=language_learner></A><br> <a target="_blank" href="improve_your_it_english.htm" style="cursor: default;"> <img border="0" src="GIF/UserOnBooksS_2.jpg" align="left"></a> <h1>The Learner</h1>Even if the teacher plays a key role in the language learning process, the most important person above all is of course the learner. Lex is devised for the motivated learner who has a strong desire to learn and who is willing to study on his or her own. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> Motivation is a key factor. The learner who has a strong desire to learn will most likely be successful. The motivated learner has by definition no problem with motivation, at least not at the outset of the task to learn a language. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table>Motivation problems may, however, arise at later stages because the learner's motivation will most likely vary over time. The motivation of the learner will, among other things, be influenced by the progress that the learner makes and the way in which he or she perceives the learning situation as a whole. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> Lex is designed to make the language learning situation more comfortable. In short, it makes life easier for the learner. The goal is to make the language learning process more efficient and at the same time turn it into more pleasant experience. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table>Lex encourages the learner to play an active role. It's a tool by which the learner can explore the target language on his or her own. The fact that the learner plays an active role is essential and has been shown to be beneficial for the learning process. As Seymor Papert writes in his classic book Mindstorms "<i>I am convinced that the best learning takes place when the learner takes charge.</i>"</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td> <br> <A name=reading></A><br> <a target="_blank" href="verb_conjugation.htm" style="cursor: default;"> <img border="0" src="GIF/UserInDrawerReColoredS_1.jpg" align="left"></a> <h1>Reading</h1> As a serious language learner you have to, at some point, start to read books in the target language. But even if you realize that reading is an essential activity it is not easy to get started. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> One approach is to use special readers adapted for language learning rather than ordinary books. The advantage with special readers is that you can easily find one that is adapted to your level. The disadvantage though, is that it might be difficult to find one that interests you. Therefore, the best choice is usually an ordinary book. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> The problem, however, is that it is difficult to find a book that matches your level, which means that you have to repeatedly interrupt the reading to look up words. This is very tedious, but by using Lex it becomes much easier. You can by using a scanner feed a chapter at a time into the computer and then you either read from the screen and click on words to look them up or read along in the book and only turn to the computer when there is something to look up. </td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td><br><A name=which_languages></A><br> <img border="0" src="GIF/WorldMapS.jpg" align="left" width="210" height="160"> <h1>Which Languages?</h1> Language Learning Express is written in English (i.e. commands, menus and help texts are in English). The target group is people who are proficient enough in English to be able to use an English program. Lex can be set up to study virtually any language, but how well it will work for a specific language depends on how much resources there are on the Web for that language. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> If your native language is English there are a lot of resources available especially for studying western European languages like French, Spanish and German. Also, if your target language is English you are well off because there are a lot of Web resources in a variety of languages that focus on English as the target language. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> If your native language is not English and you want to study French, Spanish, German or some other language the resources on the Web are more scarce, but it differs from language to language so you have to check that out for yourself. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> In the <a href="sessions_body.htm" onclick="ChangeTab('sessions_intro.htm');return false;"> Sessions section</a> you can find session definitions for different target and source languages. There are, for example, sessions where English is source language and French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese and Russian are target languages and there are plenty of sessions where English is target language with a variety of source languages. If you visit this site (www.LearnWare.se) in Lex and go to the <a href="sessions_body.htm" onclick="ChangeTab('sessions_intro.htm');return false;"> Sessions section</a> you can start sessions from there.<table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> These sessions should be looked upon as examples. It is fairly easy to set up your own sessions either from scratch or by modifying the supplied sessions. What you need to find on the Web are dictionary sites, grammar sites and of course material to work on in the form of ordinary Web pages.</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td> <br><A name=target></A><br> <a target="_blank" href="improve_your_spanish.htm" style="cursor: default;"><img border="0" src="GIF/GardenerUserS_2.jpg" align="left"></a> <h1>Intended Users</h1> The intended Lex users are language learners all over the world who are autonomous enough to use a learning tool on their own. Since it's easier to be autonomous as an advanced learner than as a beginner, Lex is geared towards the advanced adult learner and the university student rather than the child and adolescent learner. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> The important thing though, is the learner's autonomy not his or her skill level. There are beginners who are autonomous enough to use Lex on their own. As a matter of fact to become really proficient in a language the learner is more or less forced to become autonomous at some point in time. At least that's true for an adult learner. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> An important user group for Lex are professional users, who need to improve their language skills for business or social reasons. Lex can be used to study vocabulary and terminology from a specific scientific or professional field or it can be used as a tool by which the employees of a multinational company can improve their language skills. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> Another important user group are language teachers. Teachers can by offering course material in Lex-format integrate Lex into a language course and thereby not only teach their students a language but also show them how to use Lex. That's the ideal way to learn how to use Lex, especially for beginners. The students can then with the course material as a base start to add their own material. From such a course the students will not only get knowledge about a specific language, but will also learn how to use a tool by which they can keep their knowledge fresh and updated and continue to improve their language skills. </td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td><br> <A name=non_native></A><br> <a target="_blank" href="improve_your_english.htm" style="cursor: default;"> <img border="0" src="GIF/UserInDrawerReColoredS_2.jpg" align="left"></a> <h1>Non-Native English</h1> If you are a non-native English speaker you will, however proficient you may be, now and then encounter words that you don't know or that you are uncertain about. If you use Lex to surf the Web and you run into a word that you don't understand you just have to click on the word to look it up. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table>By clicking on the word it will be looked up in both monolingual and bilingual dictionaries. You can then very easily use the information from the dictionaries to make an entry in your own glossary. That activity in itself, i.e. finding the proper meaning and translation and the fact that you are actively thinking about the word and its usage will in itself enforce the learning process. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table>By adding words to the glossary you will gradually build up a collection of words that you want to learn. You can then create exercises from the words in the glossary and by running them you will learn the words in an easy and entertaining way. So even if you are already a proficient English speaker you can greatly benefit from using Lex. See <a href="usage_body.htm#the_glossary" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm#the_glossary');return false;"> The Glossary</a> and <a href="usage_body.htm#glossary_exercise" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm#glossary_exercise');return false;"> Glossary Exercise</a> in the <a href="usage_body.htm" onclick="ChangeTab('usage_intro.htm');return false;"> Features</a> section for more information.</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td> <br><A name=lifelong></A><br> <a target="_blank" href="authentic_material.htm" style="cursor: default;"> <img border="0" src="GIF/CartUserReversedS.jpg" align="left"></a> <h1>A Lifelong Companion</h1>Learning a language is a long process. It could even be claimed to be a lifelong process since you, as a learner, will through out life pick up new words and new phrases. It is an ongoing thing, rather than something that is limited in time and it will over time most certainly vary in intensity. The learning process will naturally be more intense during periods of language courses than after and between such periods, when it is likely to be more or less dormant. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> One thing is certain though, the language learning situation will change over time. You will acquire knowledge from many different sources and most likely be taught by many teachers. The learning tool, however, may stay the same. You can continue to use Lex even when the learning situation changes. It can in fact be used to tie different learning periods together. Lex has the potential to be your lifelong companion in your endeavor to gain mastery over one or several foreign languages. </td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td> <br><A name=min_pc_spec></A><br> <table height="180" width="200" align="left" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td colspan="3" height="43"></td></tr><tr> <td bgcolor="#D4DDFF"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC">  Min PC Spec</span></b></td> <td bgcolor="#D4DDFF"></td><td></td></tr><tr> <td bgcolor="#EEF1FF" width="95"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC">  Processor:</span></td> <td bgcolor="#EEF1FF" width="94"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> Pentium 3 </span></td> <td width="10"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> </span></td></tr><tr> <td bgcolor="#D4DDFF" width="95"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC">  Speed:</span></td> <td bgcolor="#D4DDFF" width="94"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> 500 MHz</span></td> <td width="10"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> </span></td></tr><tr> <td bgcolor="#EEF1FF" width="95"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC">  Memory:</span></td> <td bgcolor="#EEF1FF" width="94"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> 256 MB</font></td> <td width="10"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> </span></td></tr><tr> <td bgcolor="#D4DDFF" width="95"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC">  Network:</span></td> <td bgcolor="#D4DDFF" width="94"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> 0.5 MB/s</span></td> <td width="10"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> </span></td></tr><tr> <td bgcolor="#EEF1FF" width="95"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC">  Screen:</span></td> <td bgcolor="#EEF1FF" width="94"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> 1024 x 768</span></td> <td width="10"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #0000CC"> </span></td></tr></table> <h1>Minimum PC Specification</h1> Language Learning Express is a Windows program that runs under <b>Windows XP,</b> <b>Windows Vista </b>and<b> Windows 7</b>. In addition,<b> Internet Explorer 6.0</b> or higher has to be installed on the system.<table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> During a Lex session you will access five to ten or even more web sites concurrently. To be able to do that in a smooth and efficient way you need sufficient internal memory. The absolute minimum is 256 MB of RAM. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> Lex uses dictionary sites on the World Wide Web to look up words, which means that the lookup time is highly dependent on your network connection. If you have a fast broadband connection, you will be able to make much quicker lookups. Your broadband connection speed should at least be 0.5 MB/s, preferably higher. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> Since you will access several web sites concurrently and have several windows open at the same time you need a big screen, the bigger the better. At least 1024 x 768.<table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> Lex runs much smoother if you have a large internal memory and a fast Internet connection and of course a powerful computer. A Pentium 3 or equivalent at 500 MHz is the absolute minimum. <table><tr><td height="4"></td></tr></table> See the table above for the minimum configuration. <br> <br> </td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" colspan="2"> <div align="center"> <span style="font-size: 10px"> � 2007-<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"></SCRIPT> <a target="_top" href="http://www.learnware.se" class="BackLink"> LearnWare.se</a> </span> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </div>  <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td><a href="welcome_intro.htm">Welcome to language learning using Lex</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="welcome_body.htm">What Lex is and how it fits into the language learning process</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="usage_intro.htm">Lex features overview</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="usage_body.htm">Lex features - Lookup, Glossary, Listening, Marking, and Fill-in-the-gaps or Cloze Exercises</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="download_intro.htm">Lex Download overview</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="download_body.htm">Download Lex</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="download_body2.htm">Lex Upgrade History</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="buy_now_intro.htm">Buy Lex overview</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="buy_now_body.htm">Lex Secure Online Ordering</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="sessions_intro.htm">Description of the Lex Session layout</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="sessions_body.htm">Tables with Lex Sessions for various languages</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="links_intro.htm">Lex - Link categories</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="links_body.htm">Lex - Links to language learning sites, reference sites and sites to work on</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="forums_intro.htm">Lex - User Questions forum, Technical Stuff forum, Learners forum, and Teachers forum</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="contact_intro.htm">Lex - Stockholm picture</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="contact_body.htm">Lex Contact information</a></td> </tr> </table>