The Biggest Myth About Language Learning

Hey, Let me let you in on a secret.  I've dedicated my career to language education... ...but actually, I was a terrible middle school Spanish student.  Conjugating verbs made my head hurt.  Speaking in Spanish made me feel ridiculous.  So, why am I telling you this?  After I got older, I learned Chinese and Japanese --- and the result was different this time. Chinese and Japanese have a lot less in common with English than Spanish. But I was still able to learn them to fluency.  So much so that I later became a management consultant in China and Japan for name brand healthcare clients. I was able to do entire projects and presentations for senior executives communicating only in Chinese and Japanese.  So what changed? Did I magically become a language learning prodigy? No, I'd developed what self-help gurus call a GROWTH MINDSET instead of a FIXED MINDSET.  The FIXED MINDSET says: "Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don't have the talent." The GROWTH MINDSET says: "Maybe I can't do it now, but I can learn to with time and effort." The FIXED MINDSET says: "What if you fail? You'll be a failure." The GROWTH MINDSET says: "Failures pave the way to success." The FIXED MINDSET says: "If you don't try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity." The GROWTH MINDSET says: "If I don't try, I fail automatically. Where's the dignity in that?" I had learned to lean into the humbling experience of learning a language.  I came to appreciate and embrace each mistake as a precious opportunity to improve.  In fact, instead of measuring my language ability based on what other people said, I measured it based on how many mistakes I was making and learning from.  When I exposed my weaknesses and corrected them, I had began doing what's known as DELIBERATE PRACTICE. DELIBERATE PRACTICE is about practicing deliberately. It means thinking while you're practicing about how you're practicing.  It means staying out of your comfort zone and working on things you can improve. It means thinking about your technique and not your "natural ability."  It means persevering and avoiding the path of least resistance.  In fact, it turns out that learning a language isn't all that different from other skills, like playing a sport or an instrument. It's why most people plateau, while others never stop improving and exceed all expectations. The conventional wisdom is that it takes youth or a special gift to learn a language to true fluency.  It's a myth.  Warm regards, Alan and the FluentU Team P.S. The next email will be about a big opportunity to improve your learning -- your diet! Copyright © 2016 FluentFlix Limited, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website, blog, or app. Our mailing address is: FluentFlix Limited 21st Floor, Yat Chau Building 262 Des Voeux Road Central Sheung Wan Hong Kong Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences