Tip number two – Ask lots of questions

Tip number two – Ask lots of questions

“The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.” – Thomas Berger

There are lots of reasons that people don’t ask enough questions: 1) We are taught not to be a pest by parents and teachers, and to stop asking so many questions; 2) We believe that we will be perceived as stupid; 3) We are afraid we won’t understand the answer to our questions; 4) We don’t think we know what the correct question is.

But consider for a minute how children acquire language. Isn’t through asking questions? First comes “what,” then we move onto “where,” later to the pesky “why and when” and then a transition to the more intelligent “how”. If our imaginations are encouraged, we might explore the occasional “what if”.

The same works for language acquisition at any age. And, what freedom we experience, what growth, when we can ask for a translation or how to properly pronounce a foreign word.

·         What is this… in XYZ?

·         How do you say… in XYZ?

·         What does … mean in XYZ?

These are the questions that we want to learn early and to use often in our target language. They are the keys to moving beyond pointing, hand gestures and facial and physical expressions in order to communicate.

Keep learning –

Tim

Check out our book “The GO Method” on Amazon.