Language learning and the brain - a layman's view.

http://www.lingq.com/

A superficial view on how the brain learns language, or at least one that I find helpful as a learner.

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Education

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• illiteracy
• Stephen
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• extensive
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[Glossika]

You said a greater range of established patterns gives you more wisdom. Do you think this compares to movements in martial arts or chess (etc.)? I find that language learning success comes from keeping an attitude open to new patterns all the time.

[lingosteve]

I don't practice chess or martial arts. Wisdom is based on experience and established patterns. Language learning is based on some experience, in the learning of languages, and openness to the new patterns of the new language.

[1andonlyeva]

I think he mean its something like lifting weights...

If you take a break from it for about a week you all of a sudden you get stronger, bigger, or whatever your trying to accomplish.

But if you stay away from it too long then you start regressing.

I think its because he has alot of experience with languages he could stay away from it longer than other people who have limited experience..

I hope that made sense.

[shtosuka]

One of the biggest things, I think, to help in language learning is to try and let go of your own established patterns (your native language) as much as possible. Someone here said to stop asking "why?" This is probably the same idea, or close. I went to school for Russian and Chinese, and in each case, many students would practically reject aspects of the new language because it didn't fit their own "patterns." I find that interesting, and very impeding. Great insights!

[TheMartikaa]

@TheCrazyStudent

I have that all the time during my English learning!

[TheMartikaa]

Sprache lernen ist sehr gut gegen DEMENZ und Alzheimer!

[bilingueanglais]

Did you read "How the Brain Learns" and "How the ELL Brain Learns" (Sousa)? Found them both to be fascinating. Do you have books you can recommend?

On lateralization. We all have two ways to look at the world: a logical/linear (left side) or holistic/parallel (right side). Efficiency does not lie in trying to use one over the other but, rather, in realizing that both serve a purpose and help one another. It helps us OBSERVE. eg: music/accent is holistic/broad, pronunciation is logical/specific.

[raqui1256]

i totally agree, because in my experience learnig english, at first i used to try to remember the grammar rules in my mind as i was speaking, then i realized that i don't do it in that way with my native language, so after that i became better at english.

and for example in german, german is a little bit like spanish, in the way of changes.

[MegaTIOCHICO]

Same happened to me, I often have dreams in my second language and what strikes me the most is that now, it feels my second language has sorta taken over the first, it's basically what happens to people who travel far and stay abroad for many years only to come back home one day speaking their mother tongue poorly... interesting discussion, thank you for bringin it up!

[TheCrazyStudent]

I know what you mean, I've had dreams similar to that too, when I ask people about new words and stuff. What did the people in your dream answer, by the way? Since the people in our dreams are generated by our own brains, they can only use the vocabulary that we know so far. So it's not likely that we will get a correct answer when asking for new words in our dreams, right? The people in my dreams have always been giving me wrong answers to questions like that, or no answers at all. Haha. :)

[yuriythebest]

TheCrazyStudent - wow same here. I've just started re-learning the greek language (used to speak it fluently) and in one of my dreams I was talking to ppl in greek and asking for words I didn't know