There are many misconceptions about learning a language – you have to be “Talented”, you need to actually live in the country, etc.
In this Summary of Chris Lonsdale’s 龙飞虎 TEDx talk, we take a look at the 5 Principles and 7 Actions he describes as being key to learning a language- and do it within 6 months.
Principle 1 – Learn language that is essential to you!
If you are walking in the woods and you see some scratches on a tree, you probably will forget about them in 2 minutes. If you see a bear’s footprint, you will be at full alert and have that image ingrained in your mind probably for days.
If the language, phrases, vocabulary you are learning is helpful, important to your survival, your lifestyle, interest or goals, it’s going to stick. Practicing phrases like “When can we go play Tennis, Frank?” when you have no interest in Tennis, is not going to advance you in the language.
Principle 2 – Use your language as a TOOL to communicate from DAY 1
You need to remember: You are not learning Chinese/Japanese/Spanish. You are learning how to COMMUNICATE IN Chinese, Japanese Spanish etc. i.e. People don’t become good at using a hammer – they become good at using a hammer TO put nails in wood.
The more you use your language to communicate, the quicker and quicker you will be able to communicate. Practice communicating in the language, not just learning vocabulary and verbs.
Principle 3 – When you get the message then you will acquire the language.
Do your best to pick up the message that the person is trying to convey – look at body language, facial expressions, tone, posture. Don’t focus on the words, focus on the message.
Personal example: When I was in Korea, we stopped to get some coffee. As the waitress explained the menu and whatnot to my girlfriend (who is fluent in Korean) I could see the waitress was nervous. Then by the intonation it sounded like the waitress was admitting something. Then my girlfriend said something and they both laughed. From that, I learned some of the vocabulary for “Actually, I’m new here” and “Oh no, I couldn’t tell!” Just by watching them.
Principle 4 – Language learning is about Physiological training
Just like learning to move your muscles to do a new Yoga pose, You need to train your ears to pick up new sounds. You need to train your mouth and vocal chords to make the right noises. If after practicing a lot of your target language, your mouth hurts, you’re doing it right!!
Principle 5 – Your psycho-physiological state (mood) matters.
If you’re pissed that you’re not understanding everything or worried you’re getting the wrong meaning, you’re not going to be in a position that allows your brain to learn! You need to be relaxed.
Don’t worry about getting everything, just be happy about what you DO understand.
Action 1 – LISTEN ALOT.
You need to listen alot. Train your ears. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand, you’ll subconsciously pick up the tones, the rhythm, the intonation. (See principle 4)
Action 2 – Get the meaning first.
Look at body language, look at their facial expressions, see where their eyes are, what intonation they’re using. The words will come subconsciously.(See principle 3)
Action 3 – Start mixing!
If you have 10 verbs, 10 nouns and 10 adjectives, you can say 1000 different things!
Action 4 – Start with the core!
In English – 85% of all conversation can be narrowed down to 1000 words. Find out what that is in your target language. Picking the right words to learn FIRST is huge!!
Action 5 – Get yourself a language parent
This is arguably the hardest step, but is very important. Find someone who is interested in you as a person and will be happy to communicate with you.
Action 6 – Copy the face
See how native speakers use their mouth when pronouncing each word. Get your mouth movements to match.
(See principle 4)
Action 7 – Directly connect the words to your mental image.
Most people will learn a new word – 火 and say to themselves “Fire, fire fire fire”. What you need to do, is look at that word and imagine the smell of smoke, the heat of the flame, the brightness of the fire.
Your new vocabulary should link directly to mental images, not to your native language.
