Welcome to WordDive Blog!

We are truly excited to announce the launch of our new blog aimed at anyone interested in second and foreign language learning related topics. In this very first post – in addition to wishing you a warm welcome, of course – we would like to take the opportunity to give you a glimpse of what is to come.

The aim of this blog is to go a little further than just providing you the latest product news. Our wish is to create a forum where we can outline and discuss some of the core ideas and thinking that lie behind WordDive and its development process based on the Finnish language pedagogy tradition, innovation and meticulous research. We are passionate about language learning and believe that sharing our insight will not only provide you interesting, timely information, but also motivates and potentially helps you to get more out of your language studies.

We will begin this journey by featuring a twelve-part series of articles that examines different facets of foreign language learning. We will start off with a topic that is, from our viewpoint, the most important element of learning a foreign language: the vocabulary. This includes pronunciation, spelling, conjugation and context, not only learning lists of words by heart.

The first article, scheduled to be published next month, will reflect in detail the role of vocabulary learning in foreign language development. The article will consider a simple question: Why is vocabulary important in foreign language learning? At first sight, the question may seem somewhat rhetorical and self-evident, but as we will learn, the significance of vocabulary knowledge was for long neglected both by scholars and by educators. Nevertheless, during the last decades more and more research attention has been given to the learning and teaching of the vocabulary – one could even talk about a renaissance in this field.

Our starting point being recognition of the importance of vocabulary learning, the topic will be explored further in the following parts of the series. The articles will view the cognitive side of vocabulary acquisition examining for example the process of learning a word and how strengthening vocabulary impacts other language skills.

We will also pay attention to those paradigmatic changes that the rapidly growing use of technology-mediated, self-paced education has brought in learning and teaching foreign languages. How are languages learned beyond the classroom? How does this shape the traditional roles of learners and tutors? What about the relevance of feedback and self-assessment in autonomous language learning?

To get our first series complete we will take a look at the celebrated, PISA-winning Finnish pedagogy. What does the language teaching tradition look like in a country where three out of four people master at least one foreign language?

As you can see, there is a lot to be excited about, so remember to stay tuned for upcoming posts from our WordDive team! We would also like to invite you to share your views, ideas and doubts by commenting on our blog posts. Your input will always be highly valued!

Welcome and happy language learning!

Timo

WordDive team

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