Kurt Stiehl, a very dedicated learner, was chosen to be this month's Linguist Learner of the Month. He has saved almost 5000 words and phrases and listened to over 200 hours of content since becoming a member in August. He is fifty six years old and lives with his wife and daughter near Frankfurt, Germany. He is an electrical engineer and has spent his professional life working in the computer industry. He has been a developer, trainer and purchaser.
Kurt started learning English at school when he was a child and he immediately felt uncomfortable speaking. This eventually led to a strong dislike for the English language. Nevertheless, he did learn some words and short, simple sentences. As an adult, Kurt realized that being able to speak English was very important. Therefore, he searched for different English learning methods that he thought might interest him. He participated in an evening course at a language school; he took a one-week crash course; he took private lessons and he tried the methods that his company offered. However, none of these helped him achieve fluency. They all used artificial texts, role playing and exercises to teach English. Kurt said, "I had great difficulty transferring such things into real life." Kurt continues: I signed up for The Linguist in August 2005. It seems to me that I have learned more since then than in all the other years combined. It is an ingenious way to learn English. In my view, the most important result is that I like learning English now. I am convinced, at long last, that I have found my method!
Kurt goes on to explain the advantages of The Linguist system. He says that he likes the fact that he can choose whatever content interests him and he does not have to study content that somebody else has chosen for him. He also believes that it is important for each learner to decide when it is the right time for them to join a discussion. Nobody is forced to speak at The Linguist. Finally, being able to download audio files onto an mp3 player is very useful. Kurt listens to the Linguist audio files over and over while he is driving. He believes that repetition is a very important part of the learning process.
Kurt told me that since becoming a member of The Linguist, his family has noticed that his vocabulary, pronunciation and comprehension have all improved. Furthermore, he is now able to read English magazines and books.
