Lean Lifelong Language Learning

The recently-published fitness guide for the babyboomer generation, The New Rules of Lifting for Life, presents in its first chapter a number of new rules for middle-aged people who want to stay or get back in shape.  I think that these rules for being physically strong and lean may as well be applied to the intellectual endeavors of lifelong language learners where strength is in vocabulary and leanness is in clarity in communication.

Here are the New Rules which appear in the first chapter, readable on Amazon.

1.  The older you are, the more important it is to train
2.  The goal of training is to change something
3.  Your body won’t change without consistent hard work
4.  Hard work doesn’t mean beating the crap out of yourself every time you train
5.   You’re not a kid anymore.  Don’t train like one.

These rules progress from the realization that, with each passing day, time is less and less on one’s side, so if one is to achieve some specific goal (a physical change in the body, in this case), then consistent, moderate, and mature training is needed.

This attitude is representative of lifelong learners, and different only in detail from that of the recently hyped-up self-taught polyglots.  I would hasten to contrast the long-term focus and embedded humility of this position with the impatience of quick success schemes – most notably Fluent in 3 Months  – which are misdirected attempts at valuable accelerated learning metrics, such as those of Tim Ferriss (also a self-reported fan of business, fitness, and language).

There have also been actual hints at brain “pumping” and other physical aspects of language learning.  In the recent hype of Global News Canada, the reporter asks Axel Van Goud about his nightly studying,

Axel:  (Nightly I study) for something like 6 to 8 hours, I would say no more than 10, depending on the night of the week.
Reporter (overvoice):  His goal is to study up to 16 languages a night, and he says he can feel his brain “powering up” when faced with something more challenging.
Axel:  That’s why I make sure I eat a lot, especially protein, before.
Reporter:  You have to eat protein before you start your reading?
Axel:  100%.  Without protein, I can’t focus, I have zero…
Reporter:  This is just like a workout!

Later in the program, the reporter interviews the well-regarded Richard Simcott who compares foreign languages with the gym workouts:

Reporter:  Talk to me about what it feels like to speak in another language.
Richard:  It’s amazing.  I love it.  I mean, I’ve never taken drugs, but I guess it’s that feeling.  It’s a drug.  When people say that “high”, or when people describe going to the gym and they really pump these really big muscles…if I were going to the gym, and sort of a language learner, I’d be like this (does a Hulk Hogan flex).
Reporter: You’d be huge!
Richard: Yeah, I’d be enormous!

Here, the program could have taken these ideas a step further and interviewed Dr. Alexander Arguelles who not only made in 2009 an otherwise sedentary Polyglot’s Daily Linguistic Workout video, but who has consistently promoted the benefits of brisk pacing while shadowing and who stays fit by running.

I also have talked about this idea.  In 2008, I wrote a miniature story called “Weight of the Word about “ripped“ polyglots, but I have since embraced the more literal point of view of lean lifelong learning, where learning also means learning how to get more physical and mentally fit.

With that, what follows are my revisions of the rules for lifting for life.  I have inserted ”learning” in place of “training”, although I make no particular distinctions between studying and learning like the respected Italian polyglot Luca Lampariello does.

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1.  Learning and Studying gets more Important with Age.

The “untrained” body will lose muscle mass, power, and strength, and accumulate fat with age, but all of this can be countered at any age with training.  For the physical brain and the psychological self, as well, it may be easier for the untrained to “degenerate” with age, it is not necessarily more difficult for the trained to get better.

Steve Kaufmann has often addressed the Age and Language Learning question.

2.  The Goal of Learning is to Change Something

There is a hierarchy of physical training up from 1) basic physical activity not at rest,  2) deliberate exercises, 3) workout sessions, and 4) systematic training.  Each stage of training has a specific goal, where the ultimate goal of systematic training is to change one’s biology.

In language learning, it is essential to have a system and schedule which consists of sessions of exercises.  What will vary are the learning materials (the “weights”) and the methods (the “exercises”) used to organize the system and schedule, design the sessions, and evaluate the exercises.

It is also important to think how best to use the non-studying time, which is probably in the majority.  Some polyglots like Luca actively think or speak to themselves when not deliberately in the training mode; others, like Steve Kaufmann do passive listening while doing the dishes.  Dr. Arguelles has also talked about attention enhancement while doing strenuous physical activity like running.

3.  Your Body and Mind won’t Change without Consistent Hard Work.

What qualifies as “hard work”?  According to the authors of TNROLFL,

“If you’re new to training, or following a structured program for the first time,…you just have to show and follow the directions.  It will feel like hard work, and it will certainly take you out of your comfort zone.  But in a month of two you’ll be able to do so much more that the entry-level workouts will seem like child’s play…No matter your level, you’ll only make as much progress as your effort allows.  Muscles don’t get stronger without progressively more challenging weights.  Fat won’t come off until you force your body to use more energy than it currently does.”

I think the key point here is that improvement comes by progressive challenges to one’s comfort zone, which will be relative to the your current position.

Here, the language learning community seems to have divided itself about not simply How To Learn Any Language (which is in fact a forum and great conglomeration of learning methods, materials, and testimonials) but rather How to Start to Learn Any Language.  Responses to this question range from months of self-study “alone in a room” style (à la Luca Lampariello) to Speaking from Day 1 (see Moses McCormick and Benny Lewis).

As polyglottery is not a science in the way that anatomy or even “exercise” science is, it is almost impossible to decide which is more right, but I personally favor the path of systematic discipline which begins with lots of listening and reading.

4.  Hard Work should be “Just Enough”

In physical training, it is recommended to avoid too much exercise without enough recovery because the stress or stimulus of a workout doesn’t just affect your muscles, but also your bones, nerves, and hormones.  This reminds me of the famous Zen Buddhist inscription at 龍安寺 (Ryoanji) in Kyoto, Japan – 我唯足知 (ware tada taru shiru, “I just enough know”) –  you have to know just the right amount of work and recuperation you need to stay on schedule.

The language learning community offers a variety of ideas for the right dosage for constant improvement (Japanese 改善, “kaizen”), that is, once you have learned the language.  Again the issue how to scientifically determine which is the most effective, if this is even possible.

Speaking, in general, breathes life into a language.  Luca and Richard seem to agree that you need to speak a foreign language at least once a week to maintain it.  Listening can also be an effective way to improve comprehension and even pronunciation, either as an active or a passive activity.  For Reading, Dr. Arguelles has been the torchbearer for progressively more challenging texts, most specifically in his two-part series on Extensive Reading to Increase Vocabulary Range.  While many polyglots do suggest that the best way to increase vocabulary (the “muscle mass”) is to read a lot all the time, the idea of selecting appropriate texts has not fully been explored.

But how do you know which method, and which dosage of that method is best for you?  And what about alternative methods and outlets like Music and Creative Writing?

At the same time, Steve Kaufmann has pushed heavily that the most effective method is to do whatever you enjoy with the language.

5.  If You’re Not a Kid Anymore, Don’t Study like One.

This rule is more judgmental than the others, as it assumes that all young men recklessly lift weights to get big pecs and biceps and do endless sit-ups for chiseled six-pack abs…

Okay, this may be actually be true for a lot of young men, so let me be equally judgmental about young or novice language learners: most want to be mistaken for native speakers.   If you don’t believe me, check out Benny Lewis’ post here about “Why getting mistaken for a native speaker is much easier than you think”:

“Someone thinking you are a native speaker of your target language is the holy grail of language learners. It’s something many of us dream about, but then sigh to ourselves that it’s just never going to happen.

Well, today I want to burst that bubble and tell you that many people genuinely thinking you are a native speaker of your target language IS possible, and way sooner than you think, without requiring you to absolutely master every possible aspect of your target language, and thus waiting until your hair has gone grey.”

Benny has had so-called “missions” to convince native speakers that he was one of them.  I won’t waste any more time on these blathering leprechaun frivolties except to say this: get over yourself and grow up.

I take the position of the experienced, long-term learner Steve Kaufmann who writes in the description of his most recent video about Sounding like Native that language learning is about discovering a new language and culture and that it is not a “performance sport”. Once you understand that, you may strive to speak as clearly or as pleasantly as possible and as you hear others (Richard explains this to Luca in German in this multilingual interview) but trying to “sound like a native” may just be a distraction from real learning.

The Hype of the Hyperpolyglot

Recent media reports about the language learning community have made it difficult for me to stay silent about the categorically foreign portrayal of polyglots.

Global News Canada – Word Play

Global News, based in Canada, provides the most updated – and no less unsubstantial or unintelligent – glimpse into the world of hyperpolyglots.  From the first words of the program, you might expect that the reporter was talking about another species of Homo :

“Imagine being able to master huge numbers of languages with ease.  Such people do exist.  They’re called hyperpolyglots, a rare breed that can speak 6, 10, or sometimes even 20 languages.”

Verily, polyglots do exist and do speak, to varying degrees of fluency, many languages.  The report, like many of the recent media reports, goes on to explore a question well-known among learners of languages and any and every skill possessed by humans:

Nature or Nurture?  Talent or Hard-Work?

Such clichéd dichotomies would be forgivable if we were talking about a children’s picture book teaching of the anatomical differences between males and females, but even then, at some point one would be expected to step in and remind the learner of Darwinian evolution by natural selection and of Dawkins’ selfish genes (that’s my emphasis on the genes, lest you mistakenly imagine genes for selfishness), concepts of utter unconcern for the fate of any individual being, much less for groups of “such people”.

For actual living polyglots, Nature and Talent are irrelevant.  It’s all nurture and hard work.  

I do not deny what may be called “genius”, but for language learning, I take the position of  most of the active polyglots out “there” which is that the successful foreign language learning is a rather simple recipe of interest, experience, hard work, attention to detail, etc…all of positive attributes you would expect on the résumé of any worthy job applicant or in the eulogy of any average person of passionate curiousity à la Einstein.

Media attention is just being playful with both sides of the nature/nature coin.  You may be tempted to believe (if that word means anything special to you) that the brains of polyglots may be different, although no extensive study of language learning success has really been undertaken.  The closest and most recent attempt is rightfully associated with the book Babel No More by Michael Erard, who in the interview, says that he “strongly suspected that there was going to be something interesting going on with the brain” and that,

“the hyperpolyglots are not born, and they’re not made, but they’re born to be made“.

In his book, published in January 2012, Erard looks at historical polyglots and then introduces a number of living polyglots.  I do not really understand what he means by “born to be made”, but for all intents and purposes here, I take the position of Dr. Alexander Arguelles, who actually appears in the book itself and has reviewed Babel No More.  

Dr. Arguelles admits that it is, by definition, “unusual” to learn many languages and that the living polyglots in the book are “quirky and eccentric”, but more relevantly, that,

“the track that the author is taking, though, is…trying to find some psychological link…(from) personal, psychological trauma we might have had that would push us in the direction of language study (to) our physical brains, to see if the construct of a polyglot’s brain is different from a normal person’s brain…”

Particularly, Dr. Arguelles disagrees with the book’s association of polyglots with a “conglomerate of (negative) personal psychological traits”, saying that the endeavor to explain the phenomenon of polyglots in this way was “barking up the wrong tree”.  

Rather, Dr. Arguelles explains the phenomenon in his own way:

“What does it take to become a polyglot?  You have to feel passionately interested in learning languages and then you have to be dedicated, you have do systematic disciplined hard work over a long period of time.  That’s it.  That’s the secret.”

I couldn’t agree more with this perspective shared by Dr. Arguelles and many other successful polyglots in the online learning community.  One positive thing to come out of these media reports is that, among the pseudoscientific myths of learning and exploitations of the teen “prodigy” Tim Doner, there is the glimmer of hope for appreciation of truly long-term dedicated learners like Alexander Arguelles, Steve Kaufmann, Luca Lampariello, and Richard Simcott.

Mandarin Chinese and Japanese Language Comparison, Dialogue #4

In this video I compare a beginner-level Mandarin Chinese and Japanese dialogue as published in the 白水社 (Hakusuisha) “Express” series, published here in Japan and available at bookstores and libraries all over Tokyo.  This is the series that I use to start off learning a language through Japanese.

I’ll post the script below shortly.

Korean and Japanese Language Comparison, Dialogue #2

In this video I compare a beginner-level Korean and Japanese dialogue as published in the 白水社 (Hakusuisha) “Express” series, published here in Japan and available at bookstores and libraries all over Tokyo.  This is the series that I use to start off learning a language through Japanese.

Here is the text of the dialogue in Korean, Japanese, and English:

성하미어떻게되십니까?
お名前は何でしょうか。
What is your name?

이미숙이에요요.
李美淑です。
It is I Misuk.

저는하마다라고합니다.  지금학교에다니고있습니다.
私は浜田と申します。今学校に通っています。
I’m called Hamada.  Now I’m going/commuting to school.

저도학교에다니고있어요.  하마다씨의전공이무엇입니까?
私も学校に通っています。浜田さんの専攻は何ですか。
I too am going to school.  What is your (Mr. Hamada’s) major?

경제하입니다.
経済学です。
It’s economics.

아, 그렇습니까?  저는음학을전공하고있어요.
そうですか。私は音楽を専攻しています。
Oh really?  I’m majoring in music.

Christopher Hitchens, The Humble Public Intellectual

In June 2008, the late Christopher Hitchens was determined by popular poll to be one of Prospect Magazine’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals.  Hitchens’ response to this “honor”, published here, concluded with an almost immaculate* condensation of his legacy:

“There ought to be a word for those men and women who do their own thinking; who are willing to stand the accusation of “elitism” (or at least to prefer it to the idea of populism); who care for language above all and guess its subtle relationship to truth; and who are willing and able to nail a lie. If such a person should also have a sense of irony and a feeling for history, then, as the French say, tant mieux. An intellectual need not be one who, in a well-known but essentially meaningless phrase, “speaks truth to power.” (Chomsky has dryly reminded us that power often knows the truth well enough.) However, the attitude towards authority should probably be sceptical, as should the attitude towards utopia, let alone to heaven or hell. Other aims should include the ability to survey the present through the optic of a historian, the past with the perspective of the living, and the culture and language of others with the equipment of an internationalist.

In other words, the higher one comes in any “approval” rating of this calling, the more uneasily one must doubt one’s claim to the title in the first place.”

*I only say almost immaculate here because his words are colored, inevitably, by his own ironic self-deprecation.

French Voyeur Pop: Taking a Peep at “Les Voisines”

According to the wikipedia legend, the term “Peeping Tom” refers to a man who disobediently watched Godiva, the historical 11th century Lady of Coventry, ride a horse naked through town as part of a bargain with her husband for the abolition of his unfair taxes.  The deal was that she would ride nude if the people of the town would stay inside and shut their windows, but as legend has it, one man peeped and then was struck blind.  The taxes, however, were abolished as promised.

A catchy voyeurist pop song, ”Les Voisines” (“Female neighbors”) by young Parisian singer-songwriter Renan Luce, gives us an unique look at the variety of vocab among the main Romance languages for words related to things like windows and underwear.  The Foreign Language Music post here includes the French lyrics, an original English translation, vocabulary and etymology lists, grammar explanations, guitar chords, and more!

Why Listening is Where the Money’s At (A Preview)

This list of 700 reasons to study languages, organized by LLAS in the UK, isn’t news, but it did come as news to me while doing research for an upcoming post about why I think that listening is the most valuable language skill.

My hypothesis is still very much in the works (I have no hard data or calculations!), but it aims to position Listening as a more valuable language skill and better investment than Reading, Writing, and Speaking, in three related genres:

1.  Learning and Maintenance
2.  Technology
3.  Employment

(Source: Englishclub.com)

Here’s a little preview of the first part of my argument.

I.  Learning and Maintenance

Listening, both the capacity and the actual activity, has a higher ROI (Return on Investment) than the other language skills.  For novice learners, listening is the only logical way to actually first get to know a new language; that is, of course, assuming you are not trying to learn (or “decode”) a “dead” ancient language like Linear B.  What’s more relevant is the idea that motivation, retention, and repetition are highest when one spends its language infancy in a state of listening, both active and passive.  Of course, the other language skills are essential to one’s maturation.  In particular, Extensive Reading of appropriate level texts, as explained here by Dr. Alexander Arguelles, is indeed the best way to increase vocabulary range.  Once one has attained a certain level of mastery or comfort, it is definitely possible to “stay fit” in one’s languages by exercising Reading and Listening skills on a regular weekly basis.

Compare this to Speaking and Writing.  Not only is it impossible to take your first step in a language by speaking or writing (even Antonio Banderas’ character in The 13th Warrior must spend time listening to the Norsemen before he suddenly starts speaking).  As output, Speaking and Writing require the hefty upfront cost of knowing the language, or at least how the language works, and being able to imitate spoken and written forms.  Nevertheless, some language learners, like Moses McCormick and Benny Lewis, suggest starting off by speaking from Day 1.  Sure, it seems like the quick-fix for the impatient and textbook-weary, a true shot of adrenaline that gets you off your ass and out meeting new people and gaining new experience.

But it’s a hoax.  It’s illogical and the “speak from Day 1″ proponents know it, for they admit that they have to memorize at least some basic words and phrases before you hit the streets (Why else would Benny try to sell you a Language Hacking Guide?  Take it from me – don’t waste your time and money).

Otherwise, socializing with native speakers by trying to speak and write (or chatting online) is critical – it’s just not the first step!  It may take you a while before you start speaking and writing (if you do so at all), and that’s okay as long as your goal is not about imitating and thus being controlled by the language but rather about controlling the written and spoken language.   Furthermore, once you do become fluent in the language, it’s as if the standard for Writing and Speaking takes off like a rocket into the sky.   After a certain point, the endeavor to get better becomes increasingly challenging and time- and effort-costly; indeed, there is no satisfying auto-pilot mode for the ambitious writer or speaker.

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If you’re interested in this topic of Listening, I highly recommend checking out the work of Steve Kaufmann, who blogs here at The Linguist on Language.

Foreign Language Music Turns 2!

This month, Foreign Language Music celebrates 2 years of learning via listening to music!

2011-12 GOAL REPORT

New posts: 14.  My goal for this year was 2-3 songs/month, which sadly I could not keep up.  I think I’ll readjust to about 1.5 songs/month and see how that goes.

Languages: 9* (6 Spanish, 2 Portuguese, 1 French, 6 NEW Languages).  Of my target new languages, I managed to tackle 4 (Filipino, Latin, Romanian, Dutch), completing my tour of the major Romance and West Germanic languages.  I also had 2 non-strategic new languages (Norwegian, Croatian).

Countries: 15* (2 Brazil, 1 Spain/France, 1 Mexico, 1 Argentina, 8 NEW Countries).  My main regional theme for 2011 was the Tour of the Spanish-speaking countries, which is still incomplete as I only visited 3 of the 13 remaining (Chile, Cuba, Puerto Rico) although I did cover some new Spanish language musical genres.   I also intended on learning more about Africa and East European music, but could only visit 2 countries in the latter region (Croatia, Romania).  I also had non-strategic new areas (Norway, England).

Genres: Mostly pop (4 “Other” Genres: Bossa Nova, Bolero, Tango, Reggaeton)

*some songs represents more than one language or country, so these figures don’t always equal the total number of posts

Other: Although not a goal for 2011-12, I did revise both my criteria for choosing songs and the format which I use to organize the songs.  In terms of criteria, I am looking for either really catchy pop songs (like “Tvoje Boje” by Radio Luksemburg) or very well-known songs or genres, catchy or not.  I did experiment with one non-strategic acoustic folksy Norwegian song (“Eg ser” by Bjørn Eidsvåg), but I have not found it to be as popular or effective as I imagined.

For the format, I think the new template is “cleaner” and more user-friendly (added YouTube video,  put guitar chords above lyrics).  I have also started a downloadable excel database for searching for songs by artist, song name, country, language, and genre.

2012-13 GOALS

Post Frequency: 1.5 to 2 songs per month

New Languages: Russian and Korean are top priorities.  After that, Malay, Arabic, Hindi, and possibly Cantonese.  My other language interest is in French and Portuguese Creoles (specifically those spoken in Haiti, Cote d’Ivoire, Cabo Verde, and Macau ).  I’ll also be looking to complete the tour of the major Scandinavian/North Germanic languages (Danish, Swedish, Icelandic).

New Countries: Continuing with the the Tour of the Spanish-speaking countries is a priority (Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela are at the top of the list) with extra attention on Central America.  I’ll try to align my new language goals (Creoles, Arabic) and my interest in African music by focusing on three countries (Morocco, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire).

New Genres:  Choro (Brazil), Enka (Japan), Opera or related (Italy), Zamba (Argentina), Cueca (East coast of Latin America)

Other: I need to continue to define my criteria, which is currently aimed at catchy pop songs or authentic representations of unique genres or well-known artists and songs. Of course, I’m always on the lookout for catchy songs in any language, but this can get a bit subjective. I will also revise the blog-style presentation to make it easier for people to learn and sing along.  I’ll continue to build the downloadable excel database, including with songs not translated or posted, and I’d eventually like to incorporate this information into a small search engine on the site.  My other multimedia goals are to get this information onto mobile devices (playlists, apps, etc).

Palindromic Number : Capicua

I learned the Catalan (as well as Spanish and Portuguese) word “capicua” (from “cap i cola” or “head and tail”) as well as the interesting concept of the Palindromic Number.  Like palindromic words, palindromic numbers remained unchanged under reversal of the order. 

The word palindrome itself was coined in the 17th century by Ben Jonson.  It was constructed from the words palin (πάλιν; “again”) and dromos (δρóμος; “way, direction”).

“Success” and “Profit” in Romance Languages

Like many Latin-derived Romance language etymologies, the words used for “success” in French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish are related but not always equal.

*The English word “success” itself is also rooted in the Latin verb succedere (“to come after”, from sub “under” and cedere “to go, pass”). 

“Success” : To Go On or To Re-Exit?

In both French and Italian, there are two related words to convey “success” where are, in the modern language, are considered interchangeable synonyms.

French: le succes, la reussite
Italian: il successo, la riuscita

The former (le succes, il successo) is obviously related to the English “success” and the Portuguese o sucesso.

The latter word (la reussite, la riuscita) seems to be related to the Italian verb uscire (to exit), which helps to explain the origin of the Spanish word for “success” (el exito). 

To turn “success” into a verb form (to be successful), one again has more options in French and Italian.

French: avoir succes/reussite, reussir
Italian: avere successo/riuscita, riuscire

Portuguese: ter sucesso
Spanish: tener exito

To Manage to be Successful

Here it is worth noting that the French phrase reussir a and Italian phrase riuscire a are both used with other verbs to convey the idea that one has been successful at doing something.  They mean, thus, “to manage to” do something.

In Spanish and Portuguese, different words are used, and without the “a” preposition to link to the next verb.

Spanish: conseguir, lograr
Portuguese: conseguir

The former (conseguir) is from the Latin con (with) + sequens (sequence), and thus, indeed, resembles the word “success”. 

In Spanish, another word, lograr, is also used to say “to manage to”.  Lograr comes from the Latin lucrum, meaning “gain, profit”.  Note that the same verb exists in Portuguese, where lograr means “to cheat, deceive” in the sense of “gaining” or “profiting” from another.

Speaking of profit, one cannot help but mention the French verb profiter (to profit) and, in particular, the phrase profiter de, which means to “to take advantage of” or “to make the most of”, typically in the positive sense.  Closely related words, both in etymology and usage, are Spanish aprovechar (where aprovechar de is used to mean “to take advantage of someone” and where the phrase “buen aprovecho” means something like bon appetit) and Portuguese aproveitar.  (In Italian, this concept is used convey through the word for “to enjoy”, sfruttare). 

The noun profit itself (likely from the Latin profectus, or pro “forward” + facere “to do”) is French le profit, Italian il profitto, Portuguese o lucro, and in Spanish las ganancias, los beneficios, or las utilidades.