I don't know . . .
All these polyglots doing their thing in public view . . .
Spreading their mirth and enthusiasm about the place (YouTube, Twitter and the general blogosphere) . . .
I feel that they may very well be achieving the opposite effect of what they intend. I mean, how is the ordinary man in the street likely to interpret it? That one is supposed to be a nerd or hyper-effusive in order to learn another language. That would seem to be a real risk that they a running.
No, you don't need to go to town about learning a language or two. It's the most natural and normal thing in the world. No need to dress it up in fancy colors. No need to shovel that language 'medicine' down with a spoonful of sugar.
You don't need to window-dress up the whole business as if it needs to be sold, as if it is inherently boring, hard work, or distasteful in some way.
You want another language. Okay. But then immediately you think to yourself, "In that case, what do I need to do?"
Right away, you are heading off-track.
Obviously you need to do something. I don't deny that. But it's more along the lines of allowing something to be done to you. It's arranging the condition and setting up systems and habits, after which you allow the process to happen to you.
You're not to put words into your head. You are not the one who must learn rules and apply them. You are not the one who must push through the nervousness barrier and force yourself to speak.
No, no no . . . None of that!
You're not the doer, you're the do-ee.
You're not responsible for the results, either. And that's good to realize, because this removes any pressure of possible failure.
You're not to measure your achievements either. You aren't achieving in the sense that you've been trained to expect. It won't go neatly and tidily.
You'll get better imperfectly, messily, sloppily, randomly, magically, and unfathomably. You'll learn the language without knowing how you did it!
Don't put pressure on yourself to remember vocabulary, to spell correctly, to pronounce correctly, to understand the rule, to comprehend, to treat language learning as a serious business, or to study in any way.
Put yourself in the right environment, and get your brain into the right state. That's all that's required of you. The rest will happen automatically.
Don't consciously try to learn a language. You can't. No one can. The most that you'll achieve is to learn a few things about it.
In her book Dr. Kato Lomb lists her 10 commandments for language learning. The tenth is to be firmly convinced that you are a linguistic genius.
Attitude is that important.
As Henry Ford said:
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
But I think that there's more. It's possible to inflate your confidence to some extent, but not as much as if your conviction was based upon a solid foundation.
(The metaphor of a house built on sand or on rock fits right here.)
What are those expressions called - when you repeat positive thoughts to yourself? Oh yes, self-affirmations. It seems to me that that practice wouldn't work so well in a vacuum.
Unless you like a language, or rather some speaker of that language, it won't be as easy to learn.
You disliked French at school. You had no role model. But recently you have come to know of Serge Gainsbourgh. You enjoy his music and his manner. And now suddenly French feels cool. You feel quite differently about learning it.
