Break Language Barriers

Especially in times of AI and apparently limitless free language learning resources, you may ask: What is the use of a language teacher? Every language teacher or instructor has an individual self-image. Many see themselves as administrating textbooks and dishing out exercises. Or as explainers. Personally, I view myself as a coach. What are the implications? In professional sports, no matter how good you are, you will always employ a personal or group coach. A coach fulfills many vital functions: -       Giving regular expert feedback on your performance, -       Helping you overcome psychological blocks, -       Pushing you constantly harder and out of your comfort zone. This is how I view the role of language instruction. However, for most language learners, especially beginners, the language teacher is more like a midwife. You employ the teacher to overcome initial difficulties, to pass a ...

Please answer in the comment section: Is this really a typical German thing? I thought it was typical German behavior. When somebody is presenting, in a class or at a workshop, the first and foremost question everybody seems to be obsessed with is to judge the speaker whether he or she is self-confident or nervous. If people give feedback after a presentation, the first reaction is to say, you made a bit of a nervous impression. I saw your hands were moving too fast, or you were frozen, you were trembling a bit, your voice was a bit insecure, and so on. So that's my personal impression. I would be curious to know your experience. Please write your country also in brackets after your comment. So first, is this really so? And then why is it so? I think it's first probably more or less universal. And it's for me the same thing as when people rate the way you're speaking in a foreign language. Most people give feedback first and foremost on your accent. You have a Germa...

There are of course lots of definitions of communication. There are lots of definitions of what good communication should be. Let me add one which is probably not very original.  It is inspired by classical economic literature, by the nature of exchanges. I like to see communication like an exchange of goods and services, a voluntary exchange like in barter or in selling and buying. According to classical economic authors, such an exchange occurs if there is a double coincidence of wants, if what I am giving, what I am offering, a good or a service, is for me less valuable than the thing I want to obtain from the other person. And for the other person it's the other way around. The thing they are giving me is less valuable than the good or service I am offering them. Therefore, by definition, after the exchange everybody is better off. If there's no double coincidence of wants then we don't enter into this exchange. We wait for somebody or something else. If we appl...

How often have you complained of being interrupted while you were learning something? While learning a foreign language, for example. Typically, we perceive interruptions as working against us. What if we could turn it around and transform interruptions into our most potent tool for learning a foreign language? I will give you three practical ideas how to systematically plan for productive interruptions. Let us first look at what the problems with interruptions are. The popular and scientific wisdom goes like this. You are engaged in a meaningful activity. After an interruption (like answering a phone call or text message), you may need up to 30 minutes to return to your full level of productivity. Why? Because part of your (limited) mental energy is directed towards processing the interruption. Especially if it was negative information. Only imagine: You just checked the news for few seconds and you saw your most hated politician, political party or even country do or sa...

  What can I do if I have been making mistakes for years in a foreign language? Let's do a first small exercise. Fold your hands. Leave your hands folded and have a look which thumb is the upper thumb. Is it the left or the right one? In my case it's the left one. Now you repeat it and have a look and, surprise, you will have the same upper thumb as previously. If you do this quickly, 10 times, even 100 times, my prediction is that you will have one dominant thumb that will be always above. So now try to fold your hands the opposite way. So, with the other non-dominant thumb above. You will realize that it will take some conscious effort to do this. Maybe you will even hit your fingertips. It will be strange, uncomfortable. And then you leave your hands folded. But you probably will realize that it feels somehow strange, incorrect. It's not right. Now the question is, imagine you want to switch your dominant thumb from right to left or from left to right. What would you...

If I started selling a new app or a course about my secrets to memorizing lots of new words quickly in more than 20 languages, a lot people would buy. Everybody is looking for a way to memorize lots of new words quickly. In my experience, there is no need for special techniques. The key is avoiding some basic mistakes most language learners make. For many, language learning is based on the assumption that the first and most important thing is that you learn as many new words as possible. This is like if you want to build lots of muscle mass and the only thing you do is swallowing big quantities of protein powder, without ever exercising. Here is some inconvenient truth: - The key in speaking a language is to learn how to correctly and flexibly combine words. You can express many things with relatively few words. On the other hand, knowing lots of words and not being able to combine them, you remain mute. - There is no problem with forgetting words. Our brain “forgets” for a r...