Learn Languages Easily. Methods of self-regulation for successful learning

Obstacles mean nothing

When a person is truly gifted, obstacles connected with learning a foreign language may seem insignificant absolutely.

If we try to describe the characteristics of the “lucky ones,” then we should mention their intelligence, willpower, outgoings, and the ability to connect with their interlocutor. No doubt, it is wonderful when a person possesses such qualities. Think about the universal genius of Leonardo, for example!

It is very seldom that one has all these qualities. It is much more often that someone has the willpower, and another person is brighter, yet another person is more emotional. However, there is no such person, who would be deprived of any of these qualities. All of us are gifted. We just have these talents in different proportions⁵.

Fig. 2. The self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci: deep-set eyes is a sign of a sagacious mind; a fleshy tip of the nose and full cheeks mean rich emotionality and breadth of the soul; bushy eyebrows, a nose with a hump, a developed lower part of the face mean a remarkable will.

I single out the three types of people who I call “square and shaggy,” “round and bald,” and “triangular and with a receding hairline’⁶.

Fig. 3. The constitutional genetic types: “square” (strong-willed), “rounded” (emotional) and “triangular” (intellectual). To the left there is an image of a hypersthenic, squat structure of the body that gives the character expansiveness, to the right there is an image of the hyposthenic, “elongated” structure of the body, which gives the character delicacy, pliability

Each of these types has its own set of abilities.

Inherited qualities: pros and cons

“Triangular, with a receding line’ do not see the process of learning as labour. They like studying as much as other people enjoy jogging. These people have distinct looks: deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, and a spare frame (schizoid constitution according to Kretschmer’s terminology⁷). For this type of people, thinking means pleasure, and a learning process is perceived as a kind of sports, as a chance to exercise their brain. They greedily gobble new information.

A pencil and a shoe

People of this kind can easily find hidden connections between events. They are always the first to answer the question: “what have a pencil and a shoe got in common?” Their answer will be: “Both leave a mark.” A pronounced ability to establish associations helps them memorize things that might seem impossible for others.

We have to mention though that the extreme degree of these qualities may cause communicative difficulties: such people are often very reserved, unwilling to establish contact with other people; they can even seem autistic. Such students can easily read and understand, but they find it very difficult to speak in public because of the social anxiety.

There is the second kind of students. They are highly disciplined people who never ask themselves if learning a language should be pleasant. They usually have a strong chin, pronounced eyebrows, and an overall athletic figure (“square and shaggy’ as we refer to them, or as psychiatrists call them “epileptoid’). These strong-willed people are characterized by their can-do attitude towards the task.

Military interpreter

This is how military people often treat the task they are given: “If you cannot do it, we will teach you; if you don’t want to, we will make you to. If it is round, roll it; if it’s square-shaped, drag it. If you don’t have super-abilities, you will get there, but by studying hard!” I have met quite a lot of military interpreters, and all of them are very professional!

Their assertin, an immense willpower, and focus on the goal are the qualities that lead these people to success. At the same time, their ‘laconic nature’ may also become a problem. It sometimes happens that these people experience certain difficulties with speaking, as eloquence is not their strongest point.

On the contrary, there are very talkative people; they may seem rather pushy when it comes to communication: in other words, it is impossible to get a word in edgeways when talking to them. These people usually have plump cheeks, a small round nose, and they are prone to be overweight. Women have soft hair, and men are bald (‘round and bald’ according to our terminology, or a cycloid type, according to Kretschmer). They are always ready to communicate, no matter what the topic is. For them, speaking the language is one of the primary needs.

Cycloids can easily establish contact with a native speaker, though it does not mean they have no weaknesses: they tend to lack consistency and depth in learning grammar.

There are sensitive people who are able to perceive the finest nuances of speech and of human relations. They look delicate as they have a long, narrow face, a long neck, and a thin bone structure (“thin and resonant;’ an asthenic kind). Unfortunately, this kind of people is characterized by shyness and bashfulness. They feel lost when in the company of other people as if their frequency is weaker than the powerful signal of other transmitters. These people have to go a long way to develop confidence and bravery in communication with other people.

We have several methods to help you make up for the qualities that each of the described types lacks, but we will discuss them later. As you may have already noticed, each quality can complicate the process and facilitate it at the same time. The schizoid’s ability to assimilate semiotic systems; the epileptoid’s stubbornness in getting to their goal; the cycloid’s openness to communication, and the asthenic’s delicate way of perception – each of these qualities can become a tool to achieve success, and they have to work for you!

Further, we will return to the topic of personality types in the chapter titled “Who should I practice with?”

Learning under pressure

Even if you are lucky, and you possess all those qualities mentioned above, if you are intelligent, strong-willed, big-hearted and delicate at the same time, you still can sometimes feel like a learning process turns into an ordeal.

How do you learn the language?

I conducted a survey on the site www.psychocatalysis.ru in 2010—2011: “If you are in the process of learning a foreign language, how do you organize it?” The first variant sounded the following way: “For me, learning a new foreign language is an easy and pleasant process because it makes me feel that I am getting closer to making my dream come true.” The second variant was like this: “I have a business-like approach to learning the language because I understand that I need it.” Here is the third variant: “I am learning the language under pressure simply because I have to do it.” I suppose you have already found your approach among these answers. Here is what statistics say on this matter: 37.8% of respondents said that they were learning under pressure because of the circumstances. Fortunately, there were also people who were enjoying the learning process and found it easy. There were about 31.6% of people, who answered this way; 30.6% of respondents said that they had a business-like approach to this process because they understood the necessity.

Ninety-eight (98) people took part in the given survey. The percentage of the “students under pressure’ was fluctuating from 37.8%, which we have mentioned earlier, to 42.3%; 37.8% continued learning the language although they had little wish to do so! Why shouldn’t they begin enjoying the process and learn the language with as much interest as 62.2% do? Creating positive motivation will be one of our first tasks here. Then we will add some methods to make the process of knowledge acquisition easier, and we will get started. However, for now, we have to return to the reasons why we experience complications in the process of learning.

First unpleasant emotions

At the first stage of getting to know a foreign language, it seems very ‘uncomfortable’ up to the point of seeming ‘idiotic.” One should make a certain effort to overcome this aversion. This feeling often becomes the topic for stand-up comedians.

Because of this, I lost all the interest

During one of my seminars in Riga in 2010, one participant (her name was Olga) told us that during her first steps in learning German, she saw a quote from Mark Twain statement: “Life is too short to learn German.” (He compared German words to rails because they are so extraordinarily long: “Some German words are so long that they have a perspective.” This quote turned out to be so shocking for Olga that she immediately lost any interest towards the German language. Even years later, Twain’s words still had so much power over Olga, it stuck like a pin in her head, and it prevented her from making progress quickly. During the session of self-regulation based on the method of psychocatalysis, Olga “removed’ this pin and absorbed the light of a much calmer and natural attitude towards this language. She realized its importance and its beauty despite the words of Mark Twain. Moreover, Mark Twain himself learnt German though he was always making jokes about it.

Recycling our first impression and setting ourselves free from some idle and harmful speculations is one of the stages of our work.

Tensions and complexes acquired in the early stages of learning

A bit of knowledge, but a lot of tension — this is a law of mental life. Our body has the following logic: “I don’t know what to do, but I hope that this energy outbreak will do the trick.” It is purely a reflex reaction. However, this energetic outburst will hardly compensate for the lack of experience! As a result, the student is sweating for no apparent reason. The only result it leads to is wasting energy, tiredness, and burnout. By the end of the class or some episode of interaction in a foreign language, beginners often say that they feel exhausted absolutely. Only the toughest can survive this challenge, and the majority tries to do everything they can to avoid the repetition of such unpleasant experience.

Even the subsequent increase of linguistic competence and constant practice do not set you totally free from this ‘primordial’ tension. This tendency occurs not only when learning a foreign language, but in any other sphere where one is supposed to improve their skills, like in sports.

Setting oneself free from the old blocks, calls for a specific effort. The case I am going to adduce further might play the role of the introduction to the following practice.

A young tennis player

Jane is a wonderful young tennis player. She is ten years old, and she has been playing tennis for five years. During the training, she shows a great game, but something happens to her during competitions. She gets upset because of mistakes and easily gives up in a peak situation.

I asked her if she had the information on how to win in tennis and where this knowledge was in her body.

“It looks like some light in my head,” answers Jane

“Where is the sensation that blocks your skills during the competition?”

“It’s in my chest. It’s stone the size of a fist.”

What can this “stone’ be? Most likely, this is fear, which appeared when Jane was only learning to play.

Anyway, she was now an experienced player!

Jane eagerly agreed, that the knowledge she had accumulated over these years of training, should be given more space so that it could spread over her body, and she had to let that “stone’ melt. She observed these two processes. Her knowledge spread, and the stone turned into streams of warmth that filled the body too: first, her hands, and then the rest of the body. A spot left by the stone quickly disappeared as well.

Then I asked her: “Could it be that there was some moment during the training when you got scared and felt lost?”

“Yes, there was such an episode.

“Where are the sensations connected with this experience?”

Jane discovered a black cloud in her stomach. This is how many people often describe the consequences of fright if they focus their internal vision on it. Soon, everything cleared up inside. Jane became even more relaxed and calm. Now, she imagined how, during the coming competition, she would easily, as a pro, show everything she had learnt while training.

Another aspect that required attention during our session with Jane was the sensation of some heavy burden on her shoulders, which was bothering her. It felt like bricks. Many people express their heightened sense of responsibility this way.

“Whose load is that? Is it yours or somebody else?” I ask her.

“It’s mine!” Jane says.

This is the pressure, which she experiences, but it is in her best interest to find the way to deal with it, even though it might seem like an unpleasant feeling. She observes how her body absorbs this heaviness. Jane throws back her shoulders and stands straight. Now, she even looks a bit more mature.

All this work took us about 20 minutes.

Since then, Jane has been playing with more confidence and freedom⁸.

Such sessions have been conducted with sportsmen of different training levels. Even the high-rank professionals need to work through their sensations to spread their experience on their body, to relieve the tensions and consequences of psychological traumas received during the training or competitions. Even after one session, the sportsmen acquire better mental strength. This is the key ingredient that leads to success.

It is always great to find out that two or three months later, these people have considerably improved their results and become champions.

Something similar should be done to our linguistic competence: we need to strengthen it, melt the tension associated with the learning process, and get rid of fears.

Fright is a variant of information trauma that may lead to a phobia. Getting rid of fear and tension is a necessary step to overcome a linguistic barrier.

Student-time traumas

It also happens that a person suffers not only some tensions, but also traumas inflicted during the learning process. A teacher, who is too strict, or jokes of the classmates can “contribute’ to such complex.

A barn lock

I often think of a story told by one sensitive young woman⁹ who was so afraid of one strict teacher that every time before a class with him, she would get diarrhoea. She had to come to university hours before this class, and she would always ask her relatives or friends to give her a lift there in order to avoid any possible catastrophe in public transport. Even after the graduation, her fear of making a mistake remained so strong that she compared it to a barn lock on her forehead. This “barn lock’ kept blocking her mind years after the university. After some time she got married to a diplomatic officer and spent a considerable amount of time abroad. This means that she had plenty of opportunities to learn and speak a foreign language. However, she never managed to do so. This paralysing anxiety concerning her possible mistakes in her speech was what we focused on during our session.

An unpleasant quality of a complex is that it cannot go away by itself, and you need to work on its dissolution. You have to make a conscious decision in order to unblock a complex.

Background tensions and traumas remotely connected with the learning process

When stressed, a person burdened with unsolved problems and worries finds it more difficult to absorb new information, just like a computer with old software and viruses tends to overheat. Those traumas and tensions, which are not related directly to the learning process, take a lion share of our efforts, steal our attention, and create obstacles on the way to learn something new.

Dumb-stricken because of fright

It sometimes happens that, at a moment of acute stress reaction, a person cannot think straight and feels lost and dumb-stricken. “I just stood there mute with fright, and I couldn’t say a word,” – says one of such “victims’ having come to his senses. There are more serious speech impairments, which may manifest themselves in the freezing syndrome. These symptoms are called “mutism’ and “catalepsy.” They can be explained by the fact, that in extreme situations our body switches to the old survival mode: one either runs or falls, or hides (freezes). In the case of catalepsy, we observe the latter variant: one stop moving because, this way, one pretends to appear invisible.

Speech, as an invention from the point of view of evolution, does not form right away, and that is why it is so sensitive to any disturbing influence. Like a delicate orchid that can be cultivated in a greenhouse, human speech is a very sensitive instrument. The state of calm and healthy, but not excessive revival, is the basis of good speech.

Nerve cells can regenerate!

Formation of new nerve cells during the learning process, travelling, or any other refreshing events is called “neoneurogenesis.” Stress prevents the process of formation: stress hormones affect the brain in such a way that new nerve cells necessary for memorizing new information and for the overall development of a person do not generate and, more than that, the existing mature nerve cells die¹⁰. This process was revealed in several various scientific researches.

It is very important to keep calm and remain stress-resistant, and if there are any tensions, they should be dealt with as soon as possible! A very easy but a very efficient test will help you figure out what state you are in and if you need to work on reducing your stress level.

Test “A constructive drawing of a person’

You will need a small piece of paper and a pen or pencil to do this test.

Fig. 4. Geometric figures used in “A constructive drawing of a person.”

“Draw a person made of rectangles, circles, and triangles. The overall number of elements should be 10. Define the age of the person you have drawn.” Shapes can be of any size. Rectangles, ovals, and triangles of prolate forms are also allowed. Within the total number of 10, each figure can be used as often as you choose, and you can also omit using some of the shapes. The only restriction is the overall number and the fact that there should be only one person in the drawing. You need to do this test right now without thinking it over. You will hardly need more than a minute to complete it¹¹.

A brief way to interpret the drawing is the following: it is your self-portrait. Not exact, of course. The drawing you have is a projection of your emotional state, and it reflects how you feel and react to the factors active at the age of the person in the drawing¹².

This drawing is a mirror where you can see your emotions, or you can call it ‘a photo of your mind’s energy.”

Sometimes, a person in the drawing can have a head that is too big for the body, and relatively short arms and legs made of triangles: this is a sign that the brain is overheated and hands and feet are cold, and that is a typical symptom pointing to the state of anxiety.

Fig. 5. A big head as a sign of anxiety in the constructive drawing of a person

A circular head and an oval body point to phobia.

Fig. 6. The reflection of fright and fear in the constructive drawing of a person. A round head and an oval body, big eyes, and a navel as a place affected by frightening information; periphery seems to be reduced and drawn with triangles.

A square head and a circular body are signs of conflict involving anger, outrage, or an insult.

Fig. 7. The outline of a protest and anger in a constructive drawing of a person: a square head, an “inflated’ body, energy moved from the arms to the place of the trauma, the legs look like pillars and signify the decision to “stand on one’s ground.”

The age of the person in the drawing sends us to the period when the given symptom appeared. As a rule, this is a period of certain life changes or significant events¹³.

When working through the neurotic tensions, we will return to this test, but for now, we will just use this information as a certain point for the future work with some references for interpretations.

Now, let’s turn to another specific configuration of the drawing with “a hat on the head.”