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Speed Reading for faster learning? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies | ( Topic Closed) |  |
| Lingua Decaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5370 days ago 186 posts - 319 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Dutch | Message 17 of 49 01 October 2009 at 11:37pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
No, your logic is poor. The simple fact of children being different from adults no more means that they must logically learn differently from adults than the fact that males are different from females means that males and females must learn differently. You may feel that there is proof that they do learn differently, but it is not a logical necessity. Yes, adults can do things that children can't, but they can also do things that children can. One of those things is acquire language from exposure to comprehensible input. I have done it, and I see and continue to see other people doing it. Children do not start with ungrammatical streams of words. They proceed from one-word utterances to two-word utterances to multiword utterances. These utterances are not ungrammatical, but follow the rules of the child's own developing grammar. Edited by Lingua on 02 October 2009 at 12:01am 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| TerryW Senior Member United States Joined 6151 days ago 370 posts - 783 votes Speaks: English* | Message 18 of 49 02 October 2009 at 8:08am | IP Logged | ||||||||
Cainn's logic is not poor, because it's not just logic. There are plenty of scientific studies that show a child's brain is wired differently for learning, up to about puberty. I hate it every time I see or hear an ad for a language course that effectively says "Learn as a child does," because it's just not physically possible, short of a brain transplant with a child. (Sorry, that sounds pretty gross) That's used so often because it sounds like an effortless way to learn. (Learning like a child, not the transplant thing!) It sure is easy speaking my native language, let me learn foreign ones the same effortless way. I wish. Edited by TerryW on 02 October 2009 at 8:09am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Phexx Diglot Newbie Germany Joined 5327 days ago 8 posts - 12 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French | Message 19 of 49 02 October 2009 at 1:22pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Speed reaading and mnemonics go hand in hand
mnemonics are useful for language learning Edited by Phexx on 02 October 2009 at 3:18pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| JasonChoi Diglot Senior Member Korea, South Joined 6153 days ago 274 posts - 298 votes Speaks: English*, Korean Studies: Mandarin, Cantonese, Latin | Message 20 of 49 02 October 2009 at 4:05pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I think Steve Kaufmann mentioned somewhere on this forum that he learned languages faster as an adult than when he was younger. Likewise some suggest that adults should technically be able to learn faster than children. The major obstacle for adults, it seems, is worrying about making a mistake or other related emotional issues. Perhaps it's no coincidence that these things tend to become more of a problem when puberty hits.
In my opinion, it is possible, but perhaps many haven't figured out how to go about doing it, sorta like how people once thought flying was impossible. As you can guess, I'm open to the possibility that learning a language 'like a child' is possible. ;) The difficult part, however, is figuring out what 'learning a language like a child' means as nearly everyone seems to have different definitions of it.
Well, there is a particular method of classroom language instruction (i.e. TPRS) which is known to make learning feel effortless. In fact, AJ Hoge uses the method to teach English, and has a website called Effortless English as it uses some of the key elements of TPRS, which is not strenuous like language classes (google Effortless English for more info). Also, this page has a testimonial of a language center that uses TPRS as it's main method of teaching (you'll need a divx codec to watch the video). The participants have some interesting things to say about it. Fluencyfast.com also uses the same methodology to teach language courses. Lastly, this document has some interesting testimonials regarding the effectiveness of the method. My point in all this is that learning a language need not be difficult in order to make progress. While it is not exactly like learning the way a child does, I would say it's pretty close, and the general results are quite positive compared to typical language classroom methods. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| TerryW Senior Member United States Joined 6151 days ago 370 posts - 783 votes Speaks: English* | Message 21 of 49 02 October 2009 at 5:07pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Someone asked about the scientific studies I mentioned above (before they edited it out of their post). Here's an example:
Building Baby's Brain: Learning Language Building Baby's Brain: Learning Language - The University of Georgia/College of Family and Consumer Sciences "Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language? Did you struggle with Spanish in high school? If you're like most adults, learning a new language is a very tough job. Millions of high school and college students study foreign languages every year, yet few ever become fluent. But the average baby learns a new language relatively easily. Within a few years, most children can understand what others say and can express themselves fairly well. Prime Time for Language Learning Why can babies learn language so much more easily than adolescents or adults? Part of the answer has to do with differences in our brains. The baby's brain is actually "primed" to learn language. Babies are born with billions of brain cells, including millions that will control language. During the first years of life, the brain cells connect with other cells to form complex pathways. When babies hear their native language spoken, the language connections become stronger. Most of the brain's language connections are well established by about age 10. After age 10, learning a new language is harder because your brain is “wired” for the language you learned first..." Here's another: Wired for Language Learning - By Linda Bonder, International School Wired Language Learning "If you have ever watched a child on a computer, you have witnessed how children learn some things more easily than adults do. Language is one of those things, since young children's brains are wired for language learning. According to an October 2004 report in the science journal Nature, young children not only learn language more easily, but their brain anatomy actually changes when they become bilingual at a young age. Reinforcing this finding, many studies since 1972 have described and documented the positive effects being bilingual on mental development, flexibility in thinking, and general reasoning and verbal abilities..." Edited by TerryW on 02 October 2009 at 5:21pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Phexx Diglot Newbie Germany Joined 5327 days ago 8 posts - 12 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French | Message 22 of 49 02 October 2009 at 5:59pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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so they say
learning a language creates connections, which is true and they say learning a new language when you ve already got old connections is harder this is an unproven theory. One with which i disagree Every brain changes when you learn things, not only child brains. I am sorry but those quotes prove absolutely nothing. An article comparing schoollearning with grow-up-learning is lame. School is 2-4 hours per week. growup is 24 hours - per day. They also look at "average people", you dont have to think in the average way. I ve got no problem with thinking in English...shouldnt this be impossible? ;-) That s no scientific work either. "Why can babies learn language so much more easily than adolescents or adults?" <- not true. Learning English was easy and effortless for me. -------------------- i agree with the accents though. Learning a language accent free is probably easier as a baby, because you are not used to saying things in one way.. But on the other hand... if you get 2 24 hour tutors for 3 years who are native speakers and coach you 24 hours per day... you ll get the accent right as well! I am sure of that. Edited by Phexx on 02 October 2009 at 6:04pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Lingua Decaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5370 days ago 186 posts - 319 votes Speaks: English*, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Dutch | Message 23 of 49 02 October 2009 at 6:32pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Talk about logic. Priceless 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Lingua Decaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5370 days ago 186 posts - 319 votes Speaks: English*, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Dutch | Message 24 of 49 02 October 2009 at 6:40pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Both of the above cited articles state that learning a language is easier for children. They do not say that adults are unable to learn in the same way as children.
4 persons have voted this message useful |
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