Folium: Master Many Foreign Languages By Thinking Like an Actor via Lifehacker
Folium: Master Many Foreign Languages By Thinking Like an Actor via Lifehacker
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Imagine you are in the most famous theater in the world, about to take the stage in a role you have been working on for over a year, about to make your renowned debut. You’re waiting in the wings when you hear your cue to walk on stage. You take your place and begin to hear words coming from not your own voice, but the voice of the character you have built over so much time. You have become this new person, you are a true method actor. When beginning the journey of learning a new language, it is almost like we must learn and adapt to a new role, a new person with different thoughts, personality, and background to really capture the nuance of the language. Melanie mentions in the article that “When learning a new language, you take on a new identity—the language you speak can encourage different behaviors depending on the associated cultural norms (talking and living with gusto, perhaps, for those learning Italian).”
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ed. Polyglots tend to “inhabit” a language and its culture like a “cultural chameleon”!
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When beginning the journey of learning a new language, it is almost like we must learn and adapt to a new role, a new person with different thoughts, personality, and background to really capture the nuance of the language. Melanie mentions in the article that “When learning a new language, you take on a new identity—the language you speak can encourage different behaviors depending on the associated cultural norms (talking and living with gusto, perhaps, for those learning Italian).”
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“There must be some type of home in your mind for each language and culture and the related experiences, in order for the languages to stay active and not get all mixed together,” [professor of cross-cultural management Tim] Keeley says. “It is not just the amount of time spent learning and using the languages. The quality of the time, in terms of emotional salience, is critical.” – Lifehacker
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In the world of drama, anticipation is everything. What will this character do next? Why is there a hole in this plot line and not the other? These are a couple of the parallels I see with speaking another language and acting. A lot of new language learners will jump into speaking a language with gusto, but quickly lose track of their goal of becoming a native-like speaker because they don’t have a character in mind. This is where acting, and taking on a role of the native-like character could come in handy.
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ed. Acting and Language Learning are more closely connected than you think!
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Professor of cross-cultural management Tim Keeley says, “There must be some type of home in your mind for each language and culture and the related experiences, in order for the languages to stay active and not get all mixed together,” If there was a character created in your own mind, according to what you have learned in conjunction with the new language, this will help you establish a way to communicate in a way that is natural and native-like.
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ed. “speaking a new language with confidence is all about attitude, not ability.”
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Actor Michael Levi Harris recommends mimicry. The important thing, he says, is to try to imitate without even considering the spelling of the words. It’s easy to imitate someone’s accent or facial expressions, and you may find yourself over-exaggerating these notions, but once you have enough practice, you’ll be able to tone it down to begin to blend in. Having a good grasp of vocabulary is not necessarily about knowing all the words in a language. It’s about knowing when to use them. This is known as register, and being aware of register is one of the hardest things to get right in a foreign language.
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“Be the Christian Bale of languages!” – Lifehacker
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Language fluency and pronunciation is deeply tied in with identity. If you successfully find a new identity in the language, and gain the confidence needed to convey yourself in the language, then you may become the next Tom Hanks of languages.
Julie Thatcher
LEAF Contributor
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