The ISONO-Device- a turbo charger for learning languages
With some languages or in some life situations, it makes sense to seek support from innovative technology.
As outlined in our concept, being able to properly hear the language is a prerequisite for speaking it correctly. In a multicultural environment, it is possible to hear many languages on a dayly basis. However, we are usually socialized in only one language in our family and at school. As a result, our brain filters out all the other sounds as “noise.” This makes sense, but it creates a barrier to learning foreign languages that we do not hear very often.
The ISONO device is a type of MP3 player with an additional function: The foreign language audio files stored on it can be heard via the ear using a headset, and via the skin using the sound pads. Through the regular use over four weeks, the whole body gets used to the new sound and the brain opens up to learning this language.
What ISONO cannot do: It is not a vocabulary trainer and does not teach grammar rules. These elements of language acquisition can only be learned through conscious engagement with the language.
What ISONO does: Passive contact with the language prepares the brain for the sounds of the language—it is a kind of language shower. The brain already recognizes speech patterns and intonation of the new language.
Only through active engagement with the language during the warm-up phase vocabulary is learnt in context and grammatical structures start to become visible.
The ISONO language course consists of 4 parts:
1. Language immersion with the ISONO device: listening through the skin: 4 weeks
2. Warm-up phase of 6-8 weeks with listening through the ears and working with the decoded material.
3. Activation course of 16 hours over 2–4 days
4. Further training in the country where the language is spoken or in weekly lessons with a coach.
Success Stories
Basic Japanese in 8 Weeks
Basic Spanish in 8 Weeks
After the warm-up phase with ISONO, the learner received the decoded material, which she worked through on her own. We then had an activation course over one weekend, during which we went through basic communication situations. From the beginning, her pronunciation was very good and she made hardly any mistakes in sentence structure. On the second day, we were already talking about ourselves and our past experiences in Japanese.
Note: We did not deal with reading and writing Japanese script in this course. The focus was on speaking, so we only used Roman letters.
Brushing up English Skills
The Basics of Chinese
A tennis instructor with rusty secondary school-level English refreshed his knowledge with ISONO priming, an activation course, and approximately nine months of weekly sessions with a language coach. He ultimately spent a season as a tennis instructor in the Maldives. His English was also good enough to easily understand the commentary at the US Open Tennis Championships in New York.
There was no readyly prepared material for this course. The audio recordings of the dialogues and texts from a conventional textbook were stored on the ISONO device and used for language immersion and warm-up exercises. After just four weeks, the learner had no problems distinguishing the tones that are so characteristic of Chinese. The learner then created the decoded material herself while working through the textbook. She has not yet taken the activation course, but understands individual words and some easy sentences in conversations between Chinese speakers. When she communicates in simple sentences herself, she is usually understood.