Originally Posted by Aesahaettr (Post 359014)

Dartmouth is big on using the Rassias Method for language training, and I definitely saw a lot of payoff from it. Some more details on the method are here, but in short it's a dynamic exchange between instructor and students that breaks down inhibitions and fosters spontaneity and comfort with a language. One of my favorite parts of the Method is the reliance on verbalization; we learn language by speaking more easily than by reading.

It would be neat if we could bring that kind of method to a digital language tool, but I'm not sure it can be done...the dynamic interaction that the digital medium provides is different from that required by the Rassias method. Teleconferencing with a human instructor (apart from being impractical for many people) has too much lag for the spontaneous aspect, and even a good program is still far too impersonal.