Communication Psychology - with Gerhard Ohrband

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...

When they are unsatisfied with their progress in learning a foreign language, many wish for having more time to learn a language more intensely. On the contrary, I recommend to limit the time you spend learning a foreign language, but to practice every day for 5-10 minutes. Let me explain. Many think that the total number of words you know is an indicator of how well you know a language. And vocabulary is something easy to measure, especially with all kinds of apps. My definition of language expertise is how quickly and flexibly you can combine the words you already know into correct sentences. You don’t need to know 50 thousand words to be able to handle 99% of communication situations. The same applies to grammar rules. You need to know a limited number of rules, but to be a master in using them spontaneously. The focus here is on the ability to react to all kinds of situations quickly and to be creative in combining words. If you think about your native language, you wil...

In elementary school, a classmate told everybody that she spoke many languages. She had learned some basic expressions in all of them. As a communication coach, I am often asked how many languages I speak; which languages and how many of them perfectly. I always feel a bit awkward with the question. Often, I try to avoid an answer altogether. First, I have no clear answer for myself. Second, I want to avoid creating a boastful impression. (If I had a Ford Mustang – my favorite car, I probably would drive it only where nobody might recognize me). In writing this, I hope my answers can be helpful to you as you learn and improve foreign languages. It is no big deal. This again may sound arrogant. Just wait a second. I am a slow learner, especially in languages. It usually takes me years to be fluent in a language. That’s OK for me. I willingly adopt the “turtle method” of making small, but consistent steps every day. I am not in a speed contest with anybody. If people consider me ...

Almost everybody complains of not having enough time to learn a foreign language “properly”. This has the following effects on many: ·         They stop learning altogether, or postpone it for the indefinite future, for the moment “when I will have enough time”. This moment almost certainly never comes. This is an example of “black and white” thinking. I either learn a language “properly”, with lots of time at my disposal, or it is not worth trying at all. ·         They get very busy in certain periods during the year. They enroll for intensive courses. For some weeks, they try to keep up a learning routine of several hours a day. After that, for a long time, they do almost nothing. ·         They self-sabotage themselves by programming themselves with self-fulfilling prophecies: “Due to the fact that I am not investing enough time, it is impossible that I will ever get good r...

How our schooling fosters bad communication behavior The question whether I should practice only after feeling sure about my language skills reflects the effect of having been at school for years. And at school, we have also learned many unhealthy and unproductive attitudes and communication patterns. Let me explain. In most school systems, your main goal is to get good grades. And, even in so-called reformed schools, you are still expecting a positive evaluation from your teacher – if not in grades, then in favorable words. During basically all classes, except physical education, your grades depend, to a considerable extent, on how you communicate with your teacher. You need to impress the teacher with a flawless, quick and intellectual manner of speaking. This happens also when you are speaking with other students in class; you are still thinking about what the teacher is thinking about your role in the group discussion. The logical consequence is that before opening your mouth you a...

What is an egotistic speaker in foreign languages? An egotistic speaker does care only about one thing. How does he or she look like while speaking in a foreign language? Very often, if we are frightened of speaking in front of other people, if might very well be that we are unconcerned about the other people, about the valuable information we can to give to them. We are more concerned with their potential criticism of us. This mentality or mindset might lead to different strategies in different people, also depending on their language skills. If they are beginners, they tend to focus on memorizing catchy phrases and entire dialogues. Or they are excessively concerned with having the perfect pronunciation. They demonstratively show off the great BBC accent they have. If they are advanced speakers, they bombard you with a never-ending stream of words. If you are a native speaker, they want you to tell them how great they learned your language. They ask less questions and the...

Why should I express myself more clearly? For many of us, this is not a self-evident question. In some cultures, the listener bears all the responsibility for understanding a message correctly. If someone does not understand you correctly, you feel entitled to blame him. “This goes to show that you were not listening attentively!” “You should have known what I wanted to say, because you should know me well by now”. For some people, the problem seems never to be that they themselves communicate in an ineffective manner.   Sometimes, it gives the speaker more power, especially if he is a teacher or an intellectual. “If you do not understand me, it means, that you have not reached my intellectual level to understand such things.” Among the broader population, there seems to be a reverence for complicated texts. People are impressed by convoluted texts and by the use of intimidating words. There are, however, many reasons to strive for more clarity! -     ...