"We're starting to learn just how intuitively our minds are able to analyze amazingly complex information without our even being aware of it," Elissa Newport, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University and lead author of the study.
Evolution wants you to learn a foreign language. In other words, your brain is hardwired to learn language you just have to have the motivation to do it. So how are you going to go about it? Read on for 7 ways to learn any language.
1. What to plant? Figure out what level of the language you’re at right now. If you’re at mid level you don’t need to learn basic greetings.
2. Right planting strategy. Don’t practice your ABCs. Children don’t learn to speak learning the alphabet and neither should you. The natural approach is to listen and learn.
3. Find fertile soil. The Pimsleur Approach is a great resource to start learning any language.
4. Plant the brain seed. Recap on what you learned at least every couple days to immerse yourself. Keep it up until the language becomes second nature.
5. Water the brain seed. The vocabulary and phrases will take root and begin to grow. For a language to become second nature, it will take a while. Learning phrases is step one. Next you need to let the brain absorb it all.
6. There’s no such thing as Miracle Grow for your brain. If it sounds like it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Everything gets accomplished with dedication and smart thinking. Get your mindset right and the rest will come naturally.
7. Let nature take its course. Start learning one language-learning program and expand. Pimsleur is one of the best resources for gaining a solid foundation in foreign language without having to stop and learn..
Whatever reasons you have to learn a foreign language, the key is to keep it simple and consistent. "There is a powerful correlation between what our brains are able to do and what language demands of us," explained Newport. Remember, evolution has geared your brain to continually evolve.
Shake off the caveman mentality. There is so much upside to realize from taking in an additional language. Whether business or pleasure; training your brain; expanding your vistas or making sense of that great foreign film you’ve been threatening to see (with your absolutely enthusiastic partner), learning a new language opens a whole new world.
There are plenty of methods to gaining foreign language chops. Think about how you learn best, and what kind of time you can commit.
For a great audio-only language learning foundation, check out http://www.pimsleurapproach.com for more details. It’s an immersive program that teaches you the 2500 most important words and phrases in any of 38 languages. Learn German, French, Spanish, Italian basics in less than 10 days, it’s so easy a caveman, err you can do it.
