Learning New Languages the Easy Way
Or is it?
This morning I found research conducted by Dr. James Asher, originator of a concept called Total Physical Response, or TPR. I have requested some of his material and will post full reviews as soon as I can.
Dr. Asher's brain research has found that some of our traditional methods of teaching second languages don't work because they don't take into account how our brains work. Comprehension and speaking abilities are located in different parts of the brain. Asher asserts that teaching a person to speak a language before there is comprehension is destined to fail.
Think about how long a child listens to his or her native language before speaking a word.
Asher is also a proponent of doodling, based on his observations of Benny Goodman and Richard Feynman. Both men, experts in their fields, doodle, or play, with concepts before integrating them into their work.
I'm so excited about finding Dr. Asher and his work, and will bring you more info about it soon.
In the meantime, I'm interested in the challenges you've found as a non-trad student learning a new language. Tell me about it, and I'll try to address it.
And be sure to join the ESL conversation in the forum!
Comments
I love the idea of doodling!
I learned English through music – as a teenager, I loved English speaking singer/songwriters like Suzanne Vega or Paul Simon, and I desperately wanted to know what they were singing about. So I sat down and tried to write down the lyrics as I heard them. I made lots of funny mistakes, but I learned so much, and I can still recall many of the first words I learned back then.
Thank you for posting this, Deb!
I have been beating my head against the wall, trying to learn Amharic in the typical classroom fashion. I’m going to follow Dr. Asher’s suggestions, and try to learn it the same way I learned English as a baby… first by just listening and physically responding, then slowly by beginning to speak.
I think I’ll try to learn to read in the “natural” way, too – instead of trying to memorize a 231-letter alphabet from a chart (as my professor urges), I’ll just start sounding things out. Eventually, I’ll know the whole alphabet!
Thanks so much. I feel so relieved! This has been *the* major stressor in my life, lately.
Hi Kallie! Very cool. Don’t you just love it when you stumble upon a possible solution that revs your engines? Let us know how it goes.
Deb