“He is a GENIUS!!!”
This is his first impression to me. He does speak some foreign languages with no difficulty!! That’s
really amazing, isn’t it!?
Almost all of you think so too. We consider that he is talented and has
a special brain. But later, the more I watched the YouTube video, the more
things I found. When the video finished, I came to have both positive and
negative thoughts about him, so I will show you my thoughts here.
Positive Part
Accorrding to the video, he spends many hours on studying foreign
languages every day. That means “He does
make a lot of effort”. So, the
reason why he is good at foreign languages is not only his talent but also his
endeavor.
Then, how does he study new languages? His answer is “to have a lot of
audio input”. That is, “watching TV is important when learning an additional
language”. He also says that repeating the words and phrases (which are on TV)
over and over is a good way to train. His advice is very useful to me. Instead
of TV, I read the textbooks for beginners and repeat aloud after the textbooks’
CDs. To be honest, I am sometimes bored with my method, so his way looks
enjoyable and I will try it!!
Negative Part
As I wrote, Tim Doner actually masters 20 foreign languages. But I wonder
if he can do other academic activities such as reading books, writing passages,
studying other subjects, and so on. Naturally, the more time he spends on
studying new languages, the less time he has to do other things.
Of course it is admirable to learn 20 foreign languages, but other abilities (for example, thinking logically and writing something academically) are also important. This opinion is based on my experience. When I studied five new languages at the same time, I had little time to do other academic activities. So, I didn’t have a habit of thinking logically and writing something academic. This led me to have a lot of trouble in thinking logically and writing reports. To be honest, I am suffering from this blog! (Of course I know the importance of writing this blog and I want to be good at writing!) Therefore, I am worried about his spending too much time on studying new languages.
Of course it is admirable to learn 20 foreign languages, but other abilities (for example, thinking logically and writing something academically) are also important. This opinion is based on my experience. When I studied five new languages at the same time, I had little time to do other academic activities. So, I didn’t have a habit of thinking logically and writing something academic. This led me to have a lot of trouble in thinking logically and writing reports. To be honest, I am suffering from this blog! (Of course I know the importance of writing this blog and I want to be good at writing!) Therefore, I am worried about his spending too much time on studying new languages.
End
Although he seems to study other subjects a little, he is very brilliant
to master 20 foreign languages. That’s absolutely true. I want to master
foreign languages like him, so I will watch TV and use the Internet sources
when I learn a new language.
Wow you said something really good and easy to miss. (about the negative points) I think he learns other than languages like history, culture, and so on which related to linguistics. But it is true that you have to sacrifice your time to do something great.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting! :-) I agree with your thought that he learns other subjects related linguistics.
DeleteI think it's interesting your mention about some drawback of being polyglots. It is true that sometimes leaning a lot of languages in childhood will ruin the logical thinking, but I think it is not suitable for him, just in my opinion haha.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting! :-) After reading your comment, I have come to think that Tim will not have trouble in thinking logically because he studies other subjects related to linguistics when he learn foreign languages.
DeleteFirst of all, I think it's good to think about the negative things, not only the positive things. I thought the almost same as you in the positive part. Effort is essential when we learning lunguage, and of course whatever we do!
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting! :-) I am glad that you say so. I really think that effort is essential to achieve our goals.
DeleteYou make an interesting poiunt Satoe. When we choose to do one thing we rule out douing another. We have to be quite selective about using the finite amount of time we have. Sometimes I stuggle with the question of whether I should go outside and do something active eg going for a walk, which is experiencing life for myself vs. reading a book, which reflects someone else's experience. Decisions, decisions.
ReplyDeleteDavid :-)
Thank you very much for your comment and examples based on your experience! As time is limited, I always make clear what I should do at first and what I don't have to do quickly. Also, I try to do something as efficient as possible so that I can do many things and enjoy hobbies.(But, this is very difficult...)
ReplyDelete