Learning Another Language

Because of my passion for hot air ballooning and learning, I have friends from all over the world, many of whom speak primarily in their native tongue. I always admire them for trying their best to speak my language. At this stage in life, I’m interested in learning more about theirs. I liked this TEDx talk on How to Learn Any Language in Six Months, by Chris Lonsdale, Managing Director of Chris Lonsdale & Associates. The video transcripts are online in PDF format at The Third Ear. Lonsdale introduces five (5) learning principles and suggests seven (7) action steps to accomplish the task. (Video Time – 18:26 min. Over 450,00 views when I first found the video on YouTube.)

The five principles:

  1. Focus on language content relative to you.
  2. Use the new language as communication tool from the day you start to learn it.
  3. When you begin to understand the new language you will begin to master it unconsciously (process often referred to as comprehensible input).
  4. Speak the language by hearing it. The more you hear sounds, the more familiar they become.
  5. Make sure you are in a learning receptive state. Your psychological and physiological state makes a difference in your ability to learn. Make sure your mind is in an alpha state.

Recommended action steps:

  1. Listen intently to the new language being spoken.
  2. Understand the meaning, even before you learn to pronounce the word.
  3. Start building phrases and sentences by mixing up the words  (subject, verb, etc.) and tie them together.
  4. Build more complex sentences and practice speaking them in the new language.
  5. Get someone to speak with you in the new language you are learning. (Skype is a great tool to aid with this when your friends live around the world).
  6. Copy facial expressions of people speaking the language you are learning. Get your facial muscles and body language moving in the rhythm of their speaking.
  7. Practice “direct connect” by connecting what you are saying to mental images and direct experiences.