Ready to learn? Turn your nightmare into a dream

Learning as if you were dreaming

Have you ever dreamed to go to bed and learn a foreign language over the night?

Is it possible to simply fall asleep and wake up with this long-desired skill of having mastered the language that you have so much struggled with? Sounds like nonsense? Still, learning and sleeping might have something in common.

1. Need. 

2. Phases.

3. Satisfaction.

Let's have a closer look at these similarities. 

NEED. In case of sleep it is a physiological need in order to recharge brain and body, whereas in language learning it can be intellectual or social necessity. Anyway, in both cases you just feel that you can't do without it.

PHASES. Sleep contains a phase when the body and brain processes slow down and you enter the stage in which, if woken up, you would feel disoriented. Language learning also has this preparatory phase when you are getting used to new words, structures, intonations, ways to express yourself, etc. Just like in sleep, if you are "woken up", i.e. suddenly disturbed or distracted, you will most probably feel at a loss not knowing what to say and how to say it in another language.

Another phase of sleep also has something in common with speaking a foreign language. During REM-sleep your heart rate and breathing quicken and you see dreams (even if you don't always remember them). When you learn and try to speak a foreign language, not only does your heart beat faster, you also sweat, hold your breath and see nightmares (usually about how stupid you look and sound). The truth is, your speaking partners don't care about your mistakes and just want to help you feel at ease. So, take this advantage and turn your nightmare into a dream. The dream of speaking a new language!

SATISFACTION. Both in sleep and language learning, when we finally get a chance to make our dream come true, we feel satisfaction. Sleeping and dreaming allow our bodies to relax and our brains to recharge. Speaking a foreign language opens the multilingual and multicultural world that has always been there for us.

Nel mezzo del cammin... la luce nel buio

Ho sempre più voglia di risorse diverse in cerca di trovare quell'unica che mi porterà al risultato desiderato, cioè parlare, scrivere, leggere e capire tutto in lingua straniera. Sembra impossibile? A volte sì... In altre parole, c'è un dubbio: sarà mai possibile trovare una risorsa magica che mi aiuterà, anziché passare ore e ore cercando dei materiali, vedendo che molti non fanno per me, osservando con invidia i risultati di altri studenti che ce l'hanno fatta senza sforzo (almeno quello visibile)?

Qui propongo alcuni pensieri su quali materiali cercare e come usarli per lo studio efficace di una lingua straniera.

1. Dividere tutti i materiali per lo studio in 4 categorie che corrispondono alle abilità linguistiche: lettura; ascolto; scrittura; conversazione.

2. Cercare una o due risorse con esercizi in tutte le categorie:

a) lettura - un libro, una rivista, un blog in lingua straniera;

b) ascolto - un podcast, un video;

c) scrittura - tips su scrittura delle mail, su scrittura creativa, ecc.;

d) conversazione - liste di argomenti per la conversazione, meglio se con la divisione in livelli.

3. Dedicare un giorno alla settimana a praticare ogni abilità linguistica. 

4. Controllare quanti obiettivi sono raggiunti (quante pagine avete letto, quante ore avete parlato, ecc.).

5. Sentire se le risorse scelte fanno per voi: se vi piace fare i compiti, se sono del livello giusto, se viene sempre più voglia di studiare.

E poi, perché non cambiare le risorse ogni tanto per provare qualcosa di diverso, per raggiungere nuove mete, per diversificare il processo dello studio? Tutto ciò che è fatto con costanza e con piacere porterà al risultato positivo!

Buona ricerca e buono studio!

Learning as if you were travelling

How hard is learning travelling? How exciting is it? How adventurous are we when we hit the road?
And if we started the journey of learning as if it was a trip, with all its pleasures and hardships, fears and fun, expectations and reality? This could change the way we perceive learning and help us achieve better results, as well as enjoy the process itself.

So, how could we benefit from seeing learning as a journey?
1. Planning. Just like a trip, a learning process needs to be planned. When to start, how fast to go, how often  (if ever) to stop. Having a road map might be helpful, too: it will show where we are and how far we need to go to reach the destination.
2. Packing. Taking all the necessary stuff: buying and\or downloading books, courses; arranging lessons with a teacher. Don't leave before you have packed the essentials, still, be open to any add-ons that might turn out useful during the trip.

3. Following the route, step by step. Just like you would hardly choose an itinerary offering New York-Paris-Sydney-Moscow in a week (and in the proposed order), it isn't a brilliant idea to set far-fetching goals if it's possible to move step by step from one realistic goal to another, passing the milestones and meanwhile assessing the results.

4. Arrival. Unlike travelling, learning does not seem to give us a chance to get to the destination point. Still, such aims as passing an exam, being able to make a conversation in a foreign language, getting a driving license, etc. can be perceived as arrival after a long and usually tiring way, thus giving the sense of satisfaction and making us to strive for a new journey.

Have a safe and exciting trip! Have fun while learning!