LÜLéVA Personal Language Coaching

How language gurus are born and what it means for your learning

It seems like the same old story of overnight successes which inspire people and produce envy among the rest of us. Is their memory superior? Is their brain's language region so badly different to ours? 

"In human like in animal world behaving via similar behavioural code and rules (i.e. same language) lowers the defenses and barriers and lets people and animals open to others that use those. So, for example, when getting in touch with French colleagues or French people in general, speaking English does not create the same open and direct atmosphere that speaking their mother tongue, French, creates." ~ Matteo Lazzeretti (ESCP Europe Business School, MIM Program)

Thanks also for making it clear that there are no language gurus out there. Neither you nor I have, or are ever going to conquer the world of languages as such.

However, what we are doing is to conquer the world of connections.

Conquer is the wrong word - connect!

We want new stories in our lives, new inspirations, coming from and shared with new and newly discovered old friends. Our desire is so great that we can't do otherwise but learn their language and connect with them. 

We become active because we want new exciting things to happen in our lives!

Here again goes Matteo, on learning a language seemingly without a clear goal:

"I think it's a personal feature of me as a being, I really love even only to hear foreign languages, I love to learn them because I think it's the real link with the culture and mind of the people who speak them.

It's not a cliché if Germans are disciplined and order driven, and their language is disciplined and ordered, too, both in the sound and structure. The simple word "Kartoffel" (="potato") sounds like a sort of military order, and the structure (i.e. the cases) is similar to latin and ancient/modern greek - both really ordered languages."

Someone has already pictured this before: http://www.dudelol.com/img/how-germans-see-germans-talking.jpeg

Note, Matteo, though, that once you've mastered German and are actually communicating and using it, you no longer notice that Kartoffel sounds strange. Kartoffel becomes just Kartoffel. No thoughts or strings attached. 

Your separate language brain is formed then.

Welcome to a new life without stereotypes or borders.

 

 

 

The language brain - every individual's talent

When you look at it, it's your potential! Search for the "language" region on the left, towards the middle of the picture below and look at it straight into the eyes.

Have that clear vision of the life you want - an unforeign world around you bearing new lasting connections.

A new level of pure goals and new personal and professional opportunities is just here, a couple of units of effort away. It seems hard before you make the decision to commit to the new life, but it's worth it if you say so.

Mind Blown: An Exploded View of The Human Brain infographic

How to enjoy language learning

Get through the beginner level fast - that's it!

When we don't see the results of our hard work, it's difficult to enjoy the pain. We memorize vocabulary, get frustrated about the exceptions in grammar rules, cannot pronounce the new sounds, which makes inconsiderate natives think we're stupid...

It's all pain! So get through your first 750 words really fast, check your sound with someone you trust and be ready for takeoff!

Easiest foreign languages: in pictures - Telegraph

The English language is closely related to many Germanic and Romance dialects, so when it comes to language study English speakers aren’t starting from scratch. As a survey reveals British teenagers are the worst in Europe at foreign languages, Anne Merritt reveals the 10 easiest to learn from scratch.

via www.telegraph.co.uk

Neither German or Russian are listed here - and this is exactly what we specialise in! Who said it was going to be fun and easy?

Become vulnerable when practicing something you've just learnt. Expose your "learning self".

Language learning is a tough and very emotional process.

We have to be willing and ready to get vulnerable, to let others see how little we know and how much help we need.

If they are not helping, it hurts our feelings.

If they are not speaking slowly when asked politely, we feel disrespected.

Let it be.

It's OK to try again. It's OK to wait until they notice our apparent helplessness.

It's scary, but it's what it is. Breathe and keep practicing and showing your best learning, the language you produce, your art.

How to stay on your game when there is no clear goal

Making up a goal won't motivate you as it'll be too vague. 

Beginning a habit will.

Start small (as always when forming a habit) and patiently wait for the first results to appear. These will fuel your motivation and will let your goals emerge on the surface of your busy life.

Baby steps

Remember to keep moving, no matter how slow, to that image of your communicative self in a foreign-language environment - an image you've created when starting this tough, long-term language learning project.

If stuck, have a look at your calendar and decide on the next milestone (e.g. an immersion weekend, an Internations meeting, a call to that language school you've been thinking of for the last months...).

Keep m o v i n g, make baby steps.

Language learning is not fun, but neither is fitness

My squads trained so hard by bodypump are paying themselves off - 10km run completed on a totally new level of effortlessness! Nothing like before! My legs just ran themselves, while I was enjoying the night scenery of Frankfurt.

Language learning is not fun. And if somebody tells you, don't fall for it. Fun are the results!

Squads were tough when I first started bodypump in February this year, but running just now was a radically new experience!

My body used the strong leg muscles for running just as the brain is using those painfully memorized sets of vocabulary when expressing a thought.

It pays off! And THIS is fun!

Native language in key decision-making chats? Indeed!

An awesome career for a talented person like you? International projects with interesting people, ability to shape your organization's future, countless opportunities for personal growth... Aaah!

To get where you want to be, be prepared to master the means of communication - the language.

Hah, English is enough? Really?

Yes, in a lot of the official situations (project team status meetings etc.) it is! In the key decision-making talks beyond the boardroom, where people prefer to quickly share their worries and additional facts in their native language, it isn't.

So, what is the prospect of real global impact within your organization and on improving your clients' lives really worth to you? Think hard. Make a list, or write a poem. Just get clear on that.

Not a language person? Don't give up too quickly.

"But I'm not a language person!"
Continue saying this to yourself long enough and it'll soon feel almost impossible to ever learn a new language. Or to express your thoughts clearly to a child or an elderly person in your own language. Or to memorize your shopping list (ever tried it?)... Or to even consider running a marathon.

It's a physical and emotional activity, a process, the success of which is determined not only by one's initial abilities (memory power, experience, predisposition to playing drama), but by one's willpower and attitude.

If you believe in your ability to exert at least some influence over your attitudes and habits, then saying "I'm not a language person" does great injustice to your human potential.