Polyglots are language specialists!!!

Future of the learning 

When I look back I realise how difficult was the learning process, I dare say that I am a veteran in this area, when nobody else was in YouTube showing his talents I already helped people to learn languages. In the time I started learning languages, and specially in my country, people had a great difficulty to get material, specially audios, and the handbooks were of a very poor quality. To Find a person who was able to teach a language was an adventure, and if we manage to get one this could be a very expensive investment, in my country people tented to prefer native speakers to teach language despite of the fact that they were not teachers, that is, they could not teach no one. So, time after time, it was established a culture of expensiveness and lack of quality, and the sad part id that this Era has not finished yet,  Brazil is the biggest market for learning languages in the world, it is common to find in just one street three or even four language schools. Is this good? Is this bad? Like always there is not just one answer for this question, Internet fortunately has increased a lot and the quality of courses and virtual lessons over Skype has become a reality in many countries, therefore this has forced the some schools get updated.

Is there any future for language schools?

Nowadays we can have lessons with native-teacher over Skype, we can get a friend from all over the world and practice with them the language we are learning, and all free of charge. Why should you get enrolled in a language school? Why should you lose your precious time in commuting to the school? Why should you be in the hands of schools directors that just want your money? The answer is that nothing is more important than the human contact, schools will always exist, the difference is that nowadays we have more choices, and with a competitive market the quality of the schools tends to improve. So, in my opinion as a linguist and pedagogue, schools will keep a part of our lives, but more alternatives will be added.

Internet reality

Nowadays we are bombarded with publicity from all the sides, there are polyglots being born in many YouTube channels, some are really gifted, but others not so good, but the fact is that the community has been increased a lot since I began in this area. And together  with the polyglots we see a new market, everyone is trying to be polyglot, and every time I go to a library I see "magic pills" for learning languages, the editors of nowadays took the role of the old greedy language schools directors, what they really want is to sell, and sell, and sell more. People now can learn easily, and it is even easier to find material to buy or even download, but the quality is not always good,  if you take some minutes to see the reviews of material in YouTube, you will be surprised to notice that all of them review the same ones, so why do we have a so huge market if the polyglots are using just the small group of three or four publishers, like "Assimil", "Colloquial" and "Teach yourself"? The answer Is: the general public has not knowledge about that, is like asking a mechanic about a the treatment for heart-attack, that is "non-sense" at all.

How to choose the best languages resources?

How to know the treatment for a heart attack? You might say, obviously by asking a medical doctor. So, how to choose the language resources? The answer is obvious again, the only way is by asking the polyglots, they can be considered the "owners" of the language. Do not believe, in linguists that claim to know everything about languages, I am a linguist, but I am qualified to tell you about languages not because of that, but because of the fact that I am polyglot as well. So, never a a book, or language kit, based on the advice of a seller in a bookshop, not even of a friend or a family member. Ask the advice of a person who really knows about that, and who really tested the methods.

How about the future of learning?

The future of language learning will be something hybrid, smart and successful people will be able go to language schools, but will use by themselves the other available resources. And the most important thing, there is no miracles, hard work will always be the most important part of this fabulous personal adventure.