Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

As the internet seems to be continuously expanding, there are more and more ways to connect. There is MySpace, Facebook, Mixi, LinkedIn,Twitter, Iknow, and many more just to name a few. There are so many in fact that it is hard to keep track. In addition, most people seem to switch between them so quick you are constantly having to create a new password just to keep in touch.

I will admit that many of them have gotten much better and easier to use. I feel that LinkedIn and Facebook are much cleaner and user friendly than MySpace and we seem to be heading in the right direction. They allow us to keep in touch with people from all over the world, but in some ways the relationships aren’t as close as they used to be. We spend less time eating out and meeting with our friends because we are spending all of our time leaving comments on their virtual walls.

Clifford Stall makes some great points in his TED speech that kids will have a great understanding of technology, but will never have gone bowling together. It’s quite sad really. You can watch his full video below.

Related Links

• Comment on The Next Social Network: WordPress by soregrapes – great article and great information.
• Is this true? Sure hope so. – Alex Iskold headlines, Thank You Google for Open Social (Or, Why Open Social Really Matters), and begins,. When Google and others ganged up on Facebook a few weeks ago, to many of us, Open Social looked like a marketing move. …
• The only real social networks are personal ones – Should Brands Join or Build Their Own Social Network? is the question Jeremiah Owyang raised yesterday on Twitter and in facebook. If you’re a facebook member, you can participate. I am a member, but I’d rather not. At least, not there. …

As the world becomes smaller and more connected, learning other languages has become extremely important. Understanding multiple cultures and speaking multiple languages will open a number of opportunities for someone entering the workforce. Having the ability to work in multiple languages and in different countries can also protect you from economic downturns and downsizing.

So how do we get comfortable with a language? Hard work and continuous study are important, but those alone will not get you there. To really improve at a language you need to get out there and not be afraid to make mistakes. In fact, mistakes will actually help you learn quicker. You have to get out of your comfort zone to gain the confidence that allows you to relax and feel comfortable in the language. During my study at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan I watched a lot of great students study hard, but not really raise their language ability. They understand the material, but were not willing to put themselves into circumstances that really allowed their abilities to grow.

One great way I have found to learn a language is to find something that you really love to do, where they only speak the language you are trying to learn. When you are enjoying the activity, you don’t think about learning the language, and that’s when you really learn. However, for those of you who are unable to get into those types of situations due to locations, there is a new intuitive program put out by a company called Cerego. Cerego is created my the same people who created the Princeton Review here in Japan. They are now starting a new a new online site, “iknow” that will be somewhat like a mix between a language learning program and a social interaction site like Facebook. The service is currently offered for Japanese speaking people who want to learn English, but they will soon be adding other languages as well.

英語を勉強したい日本人にはCeregoのiknowがあります。iknowは英語を学ぶためのオンラインプログラ� です＋mixiみたいなオンラインコミュニティ。

Other helpful links

• World Association of International Studies, Stanford University … – Dick Hancock writes:Romaji or Romagi is Japan’s version of the Romanized language.   As a translator, my wife Nancy has had a great deal of experience with this language.   She says that it is perfectly adequate for younger Japanese although they sometimes say that it is not very expressive.
• w00kie’s ramblings » JLPT results – February 8, 2007 at 1:41 am · Filed under Japan, Me, myself and I. I received my 日本語能力試験 (otherwise known as JLPT or Japanese Language Proficiency Test) results today after more than 2 months. JLPT result sheet …
• Found in Translation | Studying Foreign Languages To Better … – The one pet-peeve I have that I just cant seem to get over is hearing people use the word good as an adverb.