Learn Languages Easily. Methods of self-regulation for successful learning

Tensions in the relationship with the parents or with the teachers can often have a negative effect on the speech.

Influence of historical associations

A language can be seen as attractive or repellent because of the associations it evokes.

For example, in the USSR in the 70-ies, the English language was often associated with rock’n’roll and freedom. “I would learn English only because Lennon spoke it” was a famous phrase among fans of the Beatles back then (which is a changed quote from Mayakovsky’s “I would learn Russian only because Lenin spoke it”). Nowadays, English is the language of international communication, and people seem to have a more neutral reaction to it. We will have to wait and see what it will be associated with in the future.

Not so long ago, German was closely associated with fascism, tragic moments in the history of Russia and pain.

The soldiers are fighting back

Inna lived in the South of Russia, and these are her impression from her trip to Germany. She went on a ferry cruise on the river Rhine.

As she was standing on the deck and listening to the ubiquitous German speech, she was trying to feel this language. Suddenly, she felt that every cell of her body was trying to resist it. It felt as if, as on some round screen, she saw the following picture: “Russian soldiers organized an all-round defence and were shooting back from every available weapon at the German words, which were trying to get into my mind and body.” She was surprised to experience such a sensation since there had not been any particular stories connected with WWII in her family history. “After this experiment, my body was filled with this obsessive vigilance and a wish (just in case) to leave this very hospitable country[15 - Written down in Trier, Germany in 2009.].”

The war ended a long time ago, but many people of older generations still need to make a special effort in order to leave the captivity of their historical associations. Younger generations have a more tolerant attitude to Germany and the German language.

A primordial instinct

A negative attitude to the sound of foreign speech goes a long way back and can be explained by the evolutionary experience of humanity.

Everything is on fire

Elvira, who was born in Kazakhstan, describes the images that come to her mind when she hears the sound of French: “Soldiers are galloping by with a whooping sound. They bring suffering and pain. Everything is burning. I feel a terrible fear in my stomach.”

This reaction might seem odd if we take into account the fact that Elvira’s husband is Belgian, and that she has already been living in Europe for several years[16 - Written down in Odintsovo, Russia, in 2010.].

Xenophobia (fear of the foreigners) and parochial altruism (love towards the ones from your tribe) are written down in our genes. The results of research conducted by evolutionary psychologists confirm this fact (Markov A., 2012). It is important to know about it in order not to become a slave of your own instincts, and it is necessary to be aware that there are different nations and different languages and, hence, update the attitude we initially inherited from our collective unconsciousness. We need to do certain cultural work so that we could rise above our own biologically defined hostile reaction to “others.”

Organic lesion of the central nervous system

The difficulties connected with focusing one’s attention due to the consequences of certain brain injuries require a separate matter. Such traumas can be prenatal, natal, and postnatal (let’s also take our chance at learning something about Latin and Italian: “nato’ means “born,” and “Natale’ means “Christmas’).

“Prenatal’ means before having been born, and “natal’ means during the labour. The most likely cause in these cases is the lack of oxygen during pregnancy or labour (if the umbilical cord is clamped, etc.)[17 - Using proper medical terms, we should call it “a residual organic lesion of the central nervous system of post-asphyxial cause.”].

Postnatal traumas are received after birth. Falling out of a cot, getting hit in the head by a swing, hitting the head against ice: all these situations are far from being rare. Apart from that, you can also add general anaesthesia, a suns stroke, consequences of the flu with fever, meningitis, brain concussion in adulthood, consequences of drinking alcohol, and the influence of other unfavourable conditions. All these illnesses can take their toll on our attention and memory.

Some of the characteristics of such sort of problems can be diagnosed with the help of the test called “A constructive drawing of a person’. In the drawing, you will see a head filled with the round elements (eyes, a nose, a mouth), or there will be a hat or hair standing on end; at the same time, there will be a relatively ‘calm’ body (made of one rectangular block).

Fig. 9. A constructive drawing of a person in case of cerebral concussion: an overall relaxed body with “hair on end” on the head as the sign of the local suffering, without affecting the other parts of the body. In case of asphyxiation lesion (clamping of an umbilical cord at birth, for example) there will be a face, filled with elements: eyes, a nose, a mouth.

If such symptoms are discovered, then it calls for a special treatment to restore the balance of inhibitory and excitative cerebral processes (bromides, magnesium compounds, etc.) as well as brain nutritive compounds (nootropics). The medication, as mentioned above, is usually prescribed by neurologists.

Depressants

In some cases, there might be some negative consequences when a person takes medicines slowing down brain activity. In everyday terms, alcohol belongs to this category, as it creates “emptiness’ in the brain. That is why, in Russia, there is a saying about ethanol: “When we were drinking it was fun, the morning after we cried.” Washing out the transmitters, which takes place after the consumption of alcohol, significantly decreases performance efficiency. Systematic consumption of alcohol leads to a severe organic lesion of the brain, up to dementia.

Autopilot

Before the body reaches the state of dementia, there are episodes of memory loss caused by intoxication, the so-called ‘palimpsests’ (it is the same term as the one used for erasing parts of the text on ancient manuscripts to write a new one). People often refer to this state as ‘autopilot’: it happens when, for example, a person comes back home but does not remember doing it.

Dementia stands for more than temporary transmitter failure: it is a physical destruction of the brain. In this case, it is rather difficult to expect to reach success in the learning process.

Marijuana is another example of what can make a person “dumb.” Tetrahydrocannabinol gets stuck in the membranes of the neurons and disrupts the neural network. The same applies to other types of narcotics. Apart from chemical damage to the nervous system and the body in general, they are the reason why addicts have a narrow scope of interests, no motivation for the realization of their life projects: in other words, these substances make development and self-fulfillment irrelevant.

Neuroleptics, the components of which can be found in some medicines prescribed for lowering blood pressure, may also cause difficulty in receiving new ideas as they function as blockers of neural transmission.

Workload

Being too busy with the tasks that are piling up or leading a hectic lifestyle can also become an obstacle to successful learning. Anything new requires ‘reconnection’ with it and adapting one’s life to it as well. One needs to find time for learning and to organize the process, which itself converts into a certain exercise in time management. That is why any learning process demands special attention and practical solutions.

However, even if all the conditions mentioned above are favourable there is another issue, which seems to be universal. That is the difficulty of learning when one is an adult.

Learning for adults

Infants learn the language at their mother’s breast. Breastfeeding is also the first sessions of communication a child can hear. Then he or she enriches their vocabulary when interacting with the relatives and improves the language skills on the playground when playing with other kids. There is plenty of time to get used to the language when you are surrounded by it, and you can make those cute mistakes while practicing. Then, at school, we reinforce the acquired skills as well as develop writing skills.

How do we learn the second or the third language? It usually happens much later, and we do it with the help of textbooks and other data storage devices, but never directly person to person. Quite often, it is done with some level of obligation and “stress in the brain.”

During the learning process, a considerable amount of adults experiences the syndrome we have described earlier: even if they manage to organize their time, it seems that new information enters the brain with some difficulty. A couple of weeks after the beginning of the learning process, our skull feels like “blowing into pieces,” our head becomes hot, heavy, and overloaded. In many cases, it becomes a reason why people choose to halt the process or event to stop it.

We have an antidote for that, but before we move to applying the tools for renovating our state, we will sum up the results with the help of one test.

During the process of self-testing, it suffices to note the percentage of correspondence of each ‘recommended position’ you have. At the same time, you have to tune yourself to success in the learning process and further on, you will use these statements in order to maintain this positive attitude of the student.

A test: “An ideal student’

We will see several statements that describe the state of an ideal student. Read them one by one and compare them to your sensations. Your task is to see, whether it is an absolute “YES” that you experience in response to it. What percentage of these statements is true in your case?

Even the fact that you are doing this test will have a positive effect on your studies. However, if you feel that you would like to reinforce some of the positions offered by the statements, you can easily achieve it with the help of the exercises that follow the test.

1. I feel that the knowledge of the language brings me closer to my dream coming true, to the fulfillment of my wishes, and that is why I study with enthusiasm, and I really want to learn this language as soon as possible.

2. I understand the advantages of speaking a foreign language, and I carry this understanding deep inside me, which pushes me to enrich my linguistic knowledge to practice this language every time and everywhere.

3. I feel the necessity to speak a foreign language in this modern world and I embrace this opportunity.

4. I successfully make my language classes a part of my routine, even if it contradicts my former habits and makes me put away some immediate pleasures.

5. I use every available moment and opportunity to improve my knowledge.

6. I quickly resume my efforts and go back to the process of learning the language if, for some reason, I have moved away from my goal. I remain in the way of learning the language in order to achieve success.

7. I feel happy with what nature has given me:

a)I am good at learning languages, and I like learning in general;

b)I am a goal-oriented and well-organized person. I stick to the decisions I make, and I see through everything; I feel confident about my success;