Let your imagination become your new reality. Jo Ammerlaan
I love imagination. We all have the ability to create a picture of our dreams and ideas and then by imagining them, create them. “Thoughts do become things”. Language learning works really well with imagination – it’s easy to imagine sitting in one of our favourite places overseas and talking and laughing with the locals. Or we are sitting at our family’s kitchen table learning to cook a special cuisine with grandmother or aunt. The problem is that as we start actually doing the learning, our conscious mind gets involved in the process and tells us what it thinks we can and can’t do. (These thoughts are often the result of our years at school.) BUT if we spur our imagination with belief, desire and expectancy and train it to visualise our goals so that we can see, feel, hear, taste and touch them, we will get what we want. My challenge for you this month is to stimulate your imagination. If you don’t have a picture of yourself speaking your new language fluently – create one NOW. Focus on what you want with your language – focus on where you are speaking your language – what you are hearing and seeing - focus on how you feel - and before every tutorial or online lesson, spend a few minutes imagining what it will be like. Once you are smiling and getting excited about your picture, you are ready to begin learning. Try this for a few weeks to create your new habit and share with the VLLC student community how it is impacting your lessons.
Let your imagination become your new reality. Jo Ammerlaan
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Even though the corona-virus is on everybody's minds, keep up with the hand washing and there hopefully won't be reason to panic in Australia. The basic protective measures as suggested by the World Health Organisation include sensible hygiene, coughing or sneezing into your sleeve or handkerchief or it may include self-isolation. Well, VLLC can help you make the most of your quarantine! By having the opportunity to be still, recharge and reconnect, you will gain a better understanding of who you are and what you desire in life. If learning a new language or brushing up your second language has been on your mind for some time, but you have never found the right time to start, why not use this time for something that makes you happy? VLLC's language courses and certificates are designed for online education, wherever you are around the world, in Australia or near our Melbourne and Adelaide centres. Our unique online method simulates language learning as if you were in the actual foreign country. The solitude of your home, allows you to read aloud and repeat the vocabulary and patterns, form picture and sound associations and perform simulations and practices of real life scenarios. Each of these online lessons is consolidated with virtual tutorials on Skype, with native speakers. Afterward, you can rest up, have a nap to replenish your strength and regain the energy you need to continue learning your new language online.Each of the following languages is available: Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish & Thai. VLLC is very aware of how the corona-virus can spread and we have taken serious measures in our language centres to ensure that all surfaces are regularly disinfected and hand sanitiser is available.
Contact us to organise an information session on Skype and learn more about VLLC course options. Learning a language for some is easy, and yet for others it is close to impossible. However, much about learning a language is in the mind, and we must remember our brain is a powerful thing. The best way to get to grips with learning a language fast, is to have a general idea of how your subconscious works and how we learn in different ways. Becoming socially interactive through language also grows the learning experience. Confidence grows, but the immersion in conversation prepares the mind to both listen and speak in a natural, if somewhat daunting situation. Social Learning - Children are the best example of how the subconscious mind helps learn a language. Kids who grow up in households, or just countries where more than one language is spoken, become bi or multi-lingual very fast. They are absorbed in the language through the constant repetition of words, phrases and even mannerisms, allowing the brain and mind to soak up the language while almost resting. There is no forced “you will learn this” when it comes to kids and this means the child is confident in learning, if indeed picking up is actually learning, the language and feels confident speaking it. The mind plays tricks on us all the time, and for many, overcoming the fear of speaking a language is one of the greatest challenges. However, the childlike approach to using the mind, especially a more subconscious mind using repetition is one of the best language learning techniques. Once one has learned to relax the mind and one has accepted it is not a race to learn the language fast you will become more receptive. Being more receptive means you will learn, it may even learn faster as your confidence grows. Rules and Process - Many people talk about mind maps when it comes to learning a language. Bringing to together lexicon and syntax is in many ways what learning a language is. It is a little like a jigsaw puzzle and once one learns what goes with which things fall into place. This way of learning is less subconscious and more structured and logical. It basically creates a map for a language learner to follow. It does work and is very much a more deliberate way of teaching the mind to work, or think in a certain way. Bringing it together - Our human brains and our minds are more than capable of learning another language or multiple languages. There is no one who cannot learn, some just find it more difficult than others, especially those who feel pressured into speaking or using a language. Of course, there are now many shortcuts to learning a language, or at least convincing others you can at least write the language. Nevertheless, in reality nothing beats the reality of learning a language for yourself. Language stimulates the brain, and the challenge in applying the mind should be embraced. For many, a combination of understanding, applying and using rules along with the social use of language will be how they eventually learn. The mind is a very powerful tool and in a nutshell it needs a combination of stimulation and relaxation to deliver the results you are looking for. When you understand how best your mind works, learning a language is merely a matter of time and perhaps placing mind over matter.
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AboutThese blogs are about learning a foreign language and how utilising that skill can help to keep your mind active and assist with your cognitive function. Archives
May 2022
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