📘 Part 3: Learning languages

This episode's vocabulary

Outlook (noun) - the likely future situation.

Disposition (noun) - a person’s usual way of feeling or behaving; the tendency of a person to be happy, friendly, anxious, etc.

To advocate (verb) - to publicly support or suggest an idea, development, or way of doing something.

Humanistic (adj.) - treating people with respect and making certain they are safe, happy, healthy, etc.

Knowledge base (noun) - a collection of information about a particular subject.

To deploy (verb) - to use something or someone, especially in an effective way.

Standpoint (noun) - a set of beliefs and ideas from which opinions and decisions are formed.

To pick something up (phrasal verb) - to learn a new skill or language by practising it rather than being taught it.

Exposure (noun) - the fact of experiencing something or being affected by it because of being in a particular situation or place.

To incorporate (verb) - to include something as part of something larger.

Schemata (plural noun) - cognitive structures representing generic knowledge.

Grasp (noun) - understanding.

To scaffold (verb) - to be the support or foundation for.

Questions and Answers

M: When do students in your country start to learn foreign languages?

R: Usually they start quite young, around nursery or kindergarten age, which makes sense, since I suppose the commonly held point of view is the earlier you start, the better you will be at them.

M: What foreign languages do they learn in your country?

R: Well, despite recent events, our outlook is still very European. So the common languages are French and German, with that in mind. I mean, if we continue to move politically away from the EU, I mean, even if we do that, we're still close to them geographically. So that makes sense. There's a lot of business to be done on the continent. And those are two of the main languages there.

M: What qualities should a language teacher have?

R: I suppose it depends on your political disposition, really. More liberal people would advocate for a more humanistic set of qualities like good communication and relationship-building skills. Whereas more conservative people would say, a wide knowledge base is the best.

M: So if a person does have a wide knowledge base, what qualities do they have?

R: That's just knowing a lot.

M: Do you have any techniques for learning languages?

R: Well, I mean, from my own personal perspective, it really does depend on the sort of person you are. I'm pretty organized. So if someone can show me a pattern in action, then that does wonders for helping me learn grammar. Having someone to study with is also a bonus since we use language for the purpose of communicating. And that means you can deploy it immediately if you work with someone.

M: And any specific techniques for remembering words, for example?

R: Well, I'm meant to talk generally here and I can only talk about myself, it really does depend on the individual person. Listening to podcasts with people named Maria and Rory seems to work really well. Just saying.

M: Do you think it's faster for children to learn languages than adults?

R: I think from a psychological standpoint, they both come with advantages for doing that. For example, children will pick things up just through repetition and endless exposure, but adults can organize and incorporate information into their existing schemata faster. So they will both do it faster, or they will both do it very fast, but for different reasons.

M: How does technology influence language learning?

R: I suppose if we take the angle of a tech company, then it will be a positive experience, like allowing broader access to language through the internet and presenting more opportunities to interact like you have on social media.

M: Why are so many people learning English?

R: I mean, it makes sense if you take a more economical way of seeing things. English is the global language and a good grasp of it allows you to access a variety of entertainment and economic opportunities. Like in international business.

M: How can we help children learn English?

R: I think if we take their way of seeing things into consideration, then through things like games, which can scaffold their learning while making it fun and engaging, that would be the first choice if I had to explain it.

M: Do you think the way people learn English today is the same as in the past?

R: Oh, a historian might say they do since we have more technology involved than in the past. But I think others may disagree. Since the essential elements haven't changed. People still do this with the support of another, who ideally knows more and can scaffold further understanding.

M: What are the benefits of the internet for people's learning?

R: I've talked about it before, but a tech CEO might be tempted to highlight all of the increased chances to interact and I'll stick with that one for the specific area.