Our Linguist Learner of the Month for June is Kolbjorn Ballo. Kolbjorn has been a member of The Linguist since December, 2004. He lives in Trondheim, Norway and uses English on a daily basis. Kolbjorn is the Office Manager of the Psychology department at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Kolbjorn remarks, "My current job requires that I have to be able to speak to foreign employees and to foreigners who visit our department. For this reason I chose Steve Kaufmann's Linguist system." Kolbjorn was chosen as our Linguist Learner of the Month for his continued dedication to improving his English skills. He has learned almost two thousand new words and phrases; he submits writing on a regular basis and frequently attends our online discussions. By taking advantage of all The Linguist features, Kolbjorn has gained a lot of confidence in his speaking and writing abilities.
Kolbjorn continues: Before The Linguist, I learned English for 5 years at a primary school and 2 years at high school. I remember my earlier English education as boring and filled with grammatical rules and endless lists of words to learn, but using the Linguist system for just over 5 months, I am now happy to learn English. I can clearly see and hear the improvement in my English language fluency. Also, my colleagues have noticed my improvement in my written English. And as I soon will begin participating in conversations in English, I assume they will notice my improved English speaking as well.
For me, the most difficult part is learning is to speak comfortably. For this reason I like the speaking section the most. This activity most of all confirms to me that I am making progress. The Linguist system is effective because it is challenging to me.
I think the Linguist is highly motivating to build up my own learning environment with texts that suit my interests and a mixture of activities that fit in with my skills. Further, it feels good to get in touch with real English, not artificial learning texts that quickly would have brought my motivation down to a minimum.
As for my interests in the Linguist library, I like technology, economics and stuff like that. The efficiency and the flexibility of The Linguist methodology makes it possible for me to study English even though I have a full time job.To me, the best aspect of Steve's system is that I can listen to English in a structured context while I do various chores! I also enjoy the Linguist system because of the natural approach to the English language and the excellent support from the Linguist staff.
So far I still have difficulties speaking comfortably, but since I began studying on the Linguist I have certainly improved my English abilities a lot. Unlike much education elsewhere, the Linguist system is effective for me, convenient and fun to use.
Kolbjorn Ballo, Our Linguist Learner of the month.
