When you google something like “language learning boosts the brain” dozens of entries come up.
The technology for studying the brain has become quite advanced, so there seems to be some proof. But not everyone has the same experiences with the same results.
Here are some musings of mine about language learning.
Engagement is Key
For me, learning something new or getting better at an activity requires that I engage in doing it. If I don't, I don't progress. For example, I'm a skier and every year in November, I start my first run of the season thinking: “OK, weight on your lower ski, stay away from ice, avoid the moguls for now.”
During my first days on skis, I discover muscles I hadn't used for months, I get used to my edges again, I try out all kinds of turns. But, hey, by the end of ski season, I happily head for the moguls, and feel that I could follow Lindsay Vonn down a black diamond. Preferably in Austria.
Engagement with Italian
Something similar is happening with my Italian language skills. For a while, I didn't practice my Italian very much. I was too busy with work! But then I found a way to motivate myself to do a daily practice.
What I do is read a daily article in an online newspaper and watch an episode of the soap opera Un posto al sole on my computer. Does this help to keep my brain fit? I think it does.
I particularly enjoy the articles by Roberto Gervaso. When I can read through one of his articles and get the meaning without looking up any words, I get a great feeling of pleasure and boost in confidence. This affects whatever else I do during that day.
The same happens when I understand what's going on in an episode of “Il posto al sole.” They speak fast and there's always some kind of underlying scheming going on.
I learned Italian from scratch as an adult adult. It didn't all come easy. For instance, it took me a couple of weeks to fully learn internalize the word “pomeriggio,” the Italian word for “afternoon.” With all the claims about how hard it is for adults to learn a language, I feel I've done well.
Engagement with Spanish
Emboldened by my success with Italian, I'm now learning Spanish. For obvious reasons, I am using our GamesforLanguage.com Spanish 1 course. The games make it fun.
In addition to the language games I use Twitter feeds for practice. When I'm ready, I'll start watching Spanish films. For now, my biggest challenge isn't learning new words, it's trying not to mix up Italian and Spanish. The two languages are similar and my comprehension of Spanish is good. But when I speak Spanish, Italian gets in the way.
But everyone's different. What about those who say they can't learn another language? That their efforts will probably fail because they're not skilled, too old, too busy, etc.? My answer to that brings me back to skiing.
"Row with the Oars you Have"
During this week, the ski area at Waterville Valley NH is hosting the National Adaptive Alpine Ski Races. I've been watching the skiers, many of them quite young, skiing through difficult race courses.
Each one of them has a physical challenge, perhaps a lost limb, spinal paralysis, an illness. Yet each one of them skis with such skill, that he or she way outshines the rest of us on the mountain.
The pleasure that these skiers radiate makes me appreciate the value of determination and the effort for overcoming challenges. As the Dutch say: “You must row with the oars that you have.” (Je moet roeien met de riemen die je hebt.)
So for language learning, the approach: “I've tried it once and it didn't work” – is not a good one. You've got to have passion, patience, and persistence. And you may find that your brain will thank you for it.
Learning a new language is a pretty complicated process. When someone speaks to you in a foreign language, there are so many things going on at the same time.
You need to decode the sounds and figure out the meaning of the words; you have to understand the underlying grammar (verbs forms, pronoun objects, etc.) and also determine the sentence structure (question, statement, imperative, etc.)
Finally, you have to connect everything to the context of the situation. That's a lot going on at once. So, how do you best learn to master this process, step by step?
Advice Galore
For sure, there's plenty of advice floating around on how to best learn a language. You'll find a language learning expert on almost every “corner” of the Internet.
One may tell you that all you need is to repeat and memorize words and phrases; another may insist you should just read and you'll absorb the language automatically; a third expert may say that all you need to do is copy the language and start writing on your own.
Someone else advises that watching TV or YouTube clips in the language will have you speaking in no time. Then, there's the “natural” method where you “learn like a child”; and there's the grammar-drill method where you grind your way through “pattern practices.”
In my own career as a college language teacher, I've watched various waves of teaching “methods” come and go. They are all helpful to some extent. People are learning languages all over the world using many of the above suggestions.
Do you really want to learn a new language?
For that, you need to be in control of your own language learning. It's your project. No-one can do it for you. You have to be passionate, persistent, and also patient.
Research has shown that to learn a new language “mere exposure is not sufficient … interaction in the language is needed in order for the learner to communicate personal meaning in the target language. ... Language practice which takes place in relevant context will then result in the acquisition of the language.” as Dr. Marjo Mitsutomi in “Some Fundamental Principles of Language Teaching and Learning" describes.
If your goal is to engage in relevant, personal conversations with others – the “Context Approach” is a good way to get there. As the "Language Lizard Blog" stresses, the value of context should be remembered even when teaching language to young children: "We use language for communication and therefore it is best learned in its natural form: through discussions, conversations, and stories."
Why Context matters
Taking a sample German “core conversation,” I'd like to illustrate how a learner may focus on different aspects of the language at different stages, and why context is important:
A young man, Michael meets is at the home of a friend. He meets Claudia for the first time. Michael: Hallo Claudia! Freut mich, Sie kennenzulernen. Renate: Michael, sei nicht so formell. Ihr könnt euch duzen! Michael: Wenn es dir recht ist Claudia? Claudia: Natürlich, wir Studenten duzen uns alle!
English translation:
Michael: Hello Claudia! Pleased to meet you. (formal) Renate: Michael, don't be so formal. You can say “du.” (informal “you”) Michael: If it's all right with you, Claudia? Claudia: Of course, we students all say “du.”
Initially you may mostly focus on:
1. Individual vocabulary (about 20 content items) • learn their meaning practice their pronunciation • practice their spelling
2. Find a way to practice the sentences • speak them aloud to whoever is willing to listen • type them out • write them out by hand • hang the page up in the kitchen or your office.)
Soon, you may also want to know:
1. The subject pronouns: • ich, du, er, sie es, sie (I, familiar "you", he, she, it) • Sie, ihr, wir, sie (formal “you”, plural "you", they)
2. Basic conjugations of the verbs used: • freuen (to be glad) • kennen lernen (to get to know) • können (can, to be able) • sein (to be) • duzen (to use the familiar "you")
Replaying this dialog, you may understand:
1. sentence structure: • the form of a statement • a command • a type of question • a complex sentence
2. other grammatical forms • direct and indirect object pronouns [mich, dir] • reflexive pronouns [euch, uns])
Key Points to consider:
1. What is important about the context the dialog provides? • the age of the people (they are students in their twenties) • how well people know each other • the circumstance of the conversation (the setting is informal)
2. Why take a conversation rather than individual phrases or sentences? • you'll better remember the words/phrases related to the context • you'll pick up cultural information (i.e. students say “du”)
3. Why only about 20 words? • It's a good number to practice and remember.
4. What will you have learned initially? • 20 useful words, in a meaningful context
5. And, later on either explicitly or intuitively? • all the subject pronouns • 6 verbs and a conjugation of each • 3 types of sentences
Once you've absorbed a few dozen conversations and acquired more than 500 content words, you're probably ready to engage in relevant, personal conversations with others.
If you're not in the country and don't have a live community that speaks your new language, you should head to one of the virtual “language learning communities,” which Kirsten Winkler, Founder and Editor of EDUKWEST, calls “Pubs of the Global Village.” There, you can practice what you know and continue to learn.
We all learn a little differently, so how do you individualize your own learning? Here are some questions for you: • Do you like grammar, or not? • Are you a risk taker when you learn? • Do you mind making mistakes? • Do you read voraciously? • Do you love listening to stories? • Do you like memorizing things?
It's probably worth paying attention to your likes and dislikes. Being aware of HOW we learn makes learning so much more interesting and effective.
LEFT AND RIGHT BRAIN
Research on left brain (logical, verbal, auditory, sequential) and right brain functions (creative, visual, spatial, emotional) has been ongoing for decades, and new imaging techniques have greatly enhanced our knowledge of how the brain works.
It's no mystery learning a language involves many functions of the brain for everyone. We don't learn a language just by listening (a left brain activity) and speaking, and kids don't do that either.
Small children don't yet know how to read and write. Still, they pick up a lot of visual and other clues from people (facial expressions, gestures), their surroundings (objects, movement), the context of a conversation (asking for something, looking for a toy), etc.
Once kids have learned to read and write, a mental “text image” may start to play along. Because we live in a text-based world, wanting to know how a word “looks” (is spelled) is part of language learning.
PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING
For example, when I was learning Chinese strictly through listening, I found myself imagining how the word would be spelled with western letters.
Without thinking about it, I used the “regular” German sound-letter system for this. The pronunciation of almost every [German] word can be derived from its spelling.
When not too long ago, I was learning Italian by just listening, I spontaneously (and erroneously) used French spelling to imagine how the Italian words are written.
I've come to realize that I best learn when I both hear and see a word or phrase.
PACING YOURSELF
Digital games are a perfect vehicle for structuring your own language learning.
They have auditory (spoken language, sounds) and visual features (text, colors, images, design), as well as kinesthetic elements (typing against the clock, clicking on moving images, etc).
If you want to focus on the sound, you can close your eyes or look away from the text.
If you want to focus on a text, you can click on it several times to absorb it visually. You can rush through a game to simulate a rapid-fire conversation. Or you can linger on specific individual phrases or sentences.
You can skip the writing games, or spend extra time with them. You can puzzle over grammar structures – and to follow up, google a dictionary and grammar to double-check. Or you can let your brain figure out the grammar intuitively.
Don't we all have an innate capacity to decode basic grammar?
It's a mistake to think that you have to learn in any prescribed way. Go ahead and learn a language at your own pace and in a way that keeps you motivated. Language learning more fun that way!
Learning with Rosetta Stone: Latin American Spanish Level 1 Unit 2, Core Lesson (30 minutes)
What am I learning?
Unless your goal is to decipher old texts, you're probably learning a language so you can speak with others. Like, have a conversation, talk about things, find things out, flirt, buy things in shops, get directions, etc.
I've now done six RS lessons. So, what am I learning? In this lesson I learned the words for immediate family members ("mother, father, son, daughter brother"), as well as "friend" and "wife." Those are useful.
But the endless sequences of having to identify the pictures for sentences such as "a man and a dog, a woman and her dog"; "a girl and a horse, a man and his cat" [to learn the difference between "a" and "her/his" etc.]
This was followed by such sequences as: "this is my son, this is my brother, this is my bicycle, these are my brothers" etc, etc," [to learn the difference between between the different forms of "this" and "these."]
Grammar and Communication
The whole Core Lesson is made up of simple grammar driven material, not unlike the examples above. For those who own the course, you can check out the rest of the grammar drills.
I see an interesting dilemma opening up: On the one hand, grammar is the organizing factor for the words and sentences that I'm learning; on the other hand, all this grammar practice is not tied to any meaningful communication.
For example, near the end of the lesson, I see a picture, and I learn "You are my friend." The next pictures teach: "You are my doctor" and "You are my wife." How often will I be saying that?!
Grammar has its place in language learning, for sure. Some people really want to understand how sentences are put together and what makes a language tick. It's a fun puzzle for them.
But others may suffer from (school related) grammar burn-out. They want to let their brain figure things out intuitively. Either way, if a meaningful context is missing, grammar driven learning doesn't cut it.
I've spent a full 3 hours (and more) learning Spanish. I have mastered a number of sentences describing what other people are doing ("the boys are eating, the women are reading"), but I can't yet have a simple, meaningful conversation with a Spanish-speaking friend. Well, I can tell her "You are my friend." At least that's a start.
Grammar explanations in language games? Maybe not. Game playing thrives on the experience of “flow,” a term that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explores in his book Finding Flow.
Flow is a state of mind in which things come easily and are done without overthinking. Grammar explanations definitely take your mind away from experiencing flow.
Most people will agree that we don't learn a language from a grammar book. Grammar rules themselves are not set in stone. Some of them are controversial and people argue about them. If you google “controversial grammar rules” plenty of hits will come up.
We learn a language and its grammar – the rules by which a language works – mostly just by listening to and imitating other speakers. Lots of research suggests that our brains are wired to do this.
How to Learn "Grammar"?
Knowing certain grammar rules obviously is an essential part of mastering a language. But consciously learning grammar rules is a different type of activity from engaging in a language: reading, speaking or actively listening to it.
As you are learning a new language, there is a wonderful sense of “being in the flow”: when you are reading a story and getting it; when you are listening and understanding the gist of what is being said; when you are talking, and saying what you intend to express. This feeling of flow often makes the process of language learning an enjoyable experience.
As we are developing GamesforLanguage.com, the question of combining meaning with flow comes up consistently. We agree with Ron Davidson, Making a Game of Education (who argues that “games and education are a natural fit.”)
The question is how we can best make that natural fit work for us. For now, we go as far as adding brief grammar “tips” in a translation game. But mostly we set up the language games in such a way that the player makes grammar connections intuitively.
When you get curious enough about a grammar point, it is interesting to check up on it. Sometimes that's the only way that you can figure out the meaning of something.
But while you're talking or listening to someone talking to you, it's not usually possible to say “Hey, let me look that up.” Language games intend to put you right into the flow of understanding and using a language. That's not a bad skill to practice.
When you google something like “language learning boosts the brain” dozens of entries come up.
