This is our second of two episodes on what technology can and can’t do for language learning…and perhaps more important, what technology should and shouldn’t do. Listen as Steve shares the week he spent in Silicon Valley attending the futuristic technology incubator called Singularity University. He had a chance to ask the high priest of language technology, Ray Kurzweil, how he sees the role of high tech in language learning. Ray’s answer might surprise you. You’ll be listening to the audio version of Chapter 34 of Steve’s book, America’s Bilingual Century, presented by the award-winning narrator Sean Pratt. Music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin Macleod at the start of the episode and then “West in Africa” by John Bartmann.
Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on using technology for learning a language. That includes the many bilinguals Steve interviewed for Episode 54 of the America the Bilingual podcast. It’s a brief meditation on the merits—and demerits—of language technology. How much should we depend on language technology to talk for us? What are technology’s limitations? Or is it just we humans who are limited in our thinking of what technology can do? The role that technology plays in language learning is such a timely and important question that we’re devoting two episodes to answering it. Meet the guests you’ll hear in this episode, the first of two. Music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin Macleod at the start of the episode and then “West in Africa” by John Bartmann.
From sea to shining sea, English is spoken throughout all 3.8 million square miles of the US. Does it make sense to speak anything else? To answer this question, in Episode 53, Steve takes you on a tour that starts in Little Rock and ends in Montreal, by way of Casablanca and Mali. Enjoy this seventh free audiobook chapter of America’s Bilingual Century by Steve Leveen. You’re listening to Chapter 37, narrated by Sean Pratt. Like the music? It’s “Quasi Motion” by Kevin Macleod at the start of the episode and then “West in Africa” by John Bartmann.
Want to learn Japanese? Go to Japan. Portuguese? Portugal or Brazil. Hindi? India. Immersion is absolutely the best way to learn another language…or is it? In Episode 52, Steve weighs in, and his answer might surprise you. Enjoy this sixth free audiobook chapter of America’s Bilingual Century by Steve Leveen. You’re listening to Chapter 36, narrated by Sean Pratt. Music: “Quasi Motion” by Kevin Macleod at the start of the episode, followed by “West in Africa” by John Bartmann.
A middle-aged guy named Steve walks into an intermediate-Spanish class for Harvard undergrads, and does a quick assessment of their advantages versus his. Theirs: They’re smarter. They take tests really well. They’ve had more Spanish. They can hear perfectly fine. They’re highly motivated to get good grades. They seem to relish the mental struggle. Steve’s: He shows up on time. And it gets better. Like when Steve teams up with one of the students, Josh Robinson, to do an oral presentation in Spanish on Reggaeton. Steve’s first question to his teammate: “What’s Reggaeton?” The power of perseverance is on humorous display in Episode 51. Enjoy this fifth free audiobook chapter of America’s Bilingual Century by Steve Leveen. You’re listening to Chapter 27, narrated by Sean Pratt. The music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin Macleod at the start of the episode, followed by “West in Africa” by John Bartmann.
Are there certain best practices for starting your children on a lifelong path to bilingualism? Absolutely, and in Episode 50, Steve shares the three that are most essential. They can work even if parents are not (or not yet) bilingual. You’ll also meet two families who started their children off as bilingual speakers and one family who wished they had. What caused their paths to diverge? Enjoy this fourth free audiobook chapter of America’s Bilingual Century by Steve Leveen. You’re listening to Chapter 18, narrated by Sean Pratt. Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation. Support for our podcast episodes comes from members of the America the Bilingual Project team, including Caroline Doughty, our audio and digital book maven; Fernando Hernández and his production house, Esto No Es Radio, who provide sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, our editorial and brand director; Carlos Plaza, our creative director; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Te...
In Episode 49 of the America the Bilingual podcast, Steve introduces seven bilinguals whose new language came alive for them when they found where in their lives it should live. Lorna Auerbach is one of them. She had struggled as a young student trying to learn a second language. But later, as an adult, she blossomed when she connected her “where” to the work she was passionate about—and found the language that she really wanted to learn. Father Chuck Durante is another. A Catholic priest, he had abandoned his plans to minor in Spanish when he was in college. But when he joined the seminary, he had the motivation he needed: his future parishioners. You’ll also hear about leading international correspondents and authors Anand Gopal and Evan Osnos, who knew that the only way to truly get the story was to first get the language. Calvin Sims, a longtime overseas correspondent for The New York Times, also became fluent in both Spanish and Japanese for just this reason. And his biling...
If how you’re going to learn a new language is the first question you consider on your bilingual journey, Steve has a surprise for you. In Episode 48, he reveals an even more important question to ask yourself about that new language—before you decide how you’ll learn it. It’s one of the pivotal lessons Steve learned when researching his book, America’s Bilingual Century, and he thanks Guadalupe Valdés, a professor at Stanford, for enlightening him. Enjoy this second audiobook chapter of America’s Bilingual Century. You’re listening to Chapter 1, narrated by Sean Pratt. Like the music? It’s “Quasi Motion” by Kevin Macleod at the start of the episode and then Johh Bartmann's "West in Africa".
In Episode 47, Steve shares why he decided in midlife to leave behind a comfortable career as CEO of his own company and light out for the long road to bilingualism. Enjoy this first free audiobook chapter of America’s Bilingual Century, the new book by Steve Leveen. You’re listening to the preface of the book, narrated by Sean Pratt. Then check out the story on Sean, and why this award-winning audiobook narrator was so taken with Steve’s book. He’ll also show you how he marked up the text of the preface, to turn the written words into spoken words. You'll find it on the Articles page of America the Bilingual. The music you’ll hear is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin Macleod at the start of the episode and then “West in Africa” by John Bartmann.
Winter may be coming, but next summer is not that far behind. Start planning now if you’d like to send your kids—or yourself!—to a summer language immersion camp. In Episode 46 of the America the Bilingual podcast, we give you capsule reports on five top programs we’ve featured in earlier episodes, plus a brand-new report on a different kind of camp in South Florida.