Learner of the Month, December 2005
Ben Vaes is December's Linguist Learner of the Month.
He is 44 years old and lives in the Netherlands with his wife and two kids.
He is the IT support supervisor at the headquarters of a Pharmaceutical company called Organon.
Organon has branch offices in almost one hundred countries and Ben must speak and write in English to his foreign colleagues.
Ben learned English for five years in high school and for another four years during his professional training.
The focus was always on learning words and grammar.
When he started working at Organon he needed to write and speak in English.
Ben felt that he was making a lot of mistakes when he spoke because he constantly translated words and phrases into Dutch.
After using the Linguist system for three months Ben says, "I have noticed that I need less time to reply to the emails of my colleagues and to create documents because I am translating my words less."
Ben continues: At school, we just had one hour of class two or three times a week.
This is the main difference with The Linguist system.
It allows you to learn at any hour of the day and as often as you want.
And now I can also learn by listening to the downloaded contents on my MP3 player while I am cycling to work.
At school it was not possible to learn only those words and phrases which where unknown or which I was not familiar with.
With The Linguist system I review the unknown words and phrases daily to extend my vocabulary.
The Linguist system has helped me to focus on the words and phrases I am not familiar with by listening to the downloaded contents and through the feedback of my tutor Tracey.
I appreciate the feedback I get on my writing and the group discussions because it seems like I have personal tutors who not only point out the mistakes I make but also motivate me to go on, even though I have never met them personally.
Ben Vaes is December's Linguist Learner of the Month. He is 44 years old and lives in the Netherlands with his wife and two kids. He is the IT support supervisor at the headquarters of a Pharmaceutical company called Organon. Organon has branch offices in almost one hundred countries and Ben must speak and write in English to his foreign colleagues.
Ben learned English for five years in high school and for another four years during his professional training. The focus was always on learning words and grammar. When he started working at Organon he needed to write and speak in English. Ben felt that he was making a lot of mistakes when he spoke because he constantly translated words and phrases into Dutch. After using the Linguist system for three months Ben says, "I have noticed that I need less time to reply to the emails of my colleagues and to create documents because I am translating my words less."
Ben continues:
At school, we just had one hour of class two or three times a week. This is the main difference with The Linguist system. It allows you to learn at any hour of the day and as often as you want. And now I can also learn by listening to the downloaded contents on my MP3 player while I am cycling to work. At school it was not possible to learn only those words and phrases which where unknown or which I was not familiar with. With The Linguist system I review the unknown words and phrases daily to extend my vocabulary. The Linguist system has helped me to focus on the words and phrases I am not familiar with by listening to the downloaded contents and through the feedback of my tutor Tracey. I appreciate the feedback I get on my writing and the group discussions because it seems like I have personal tutors who not only point out the mistakes I make but also motivate me to go on, even though I have never met them personally.
