A general understanding
that our intelligence and ability in the area of languages (and not only) is
malleable and therefore learnable: This is what Stanford psychology professor
Carol Dweck calls a ”growth mindset”.
The opposite of that would
be a ”fixed mindset”. With a fixed mindset, we think and say things like:
·
”Everybody
is born with a certain amount of talent regarding languages.”
·
”Putting
in effort into learning can change that only to a very limited amount.”
Having a fixed vs. a growth
mindset has been proven to affect several aspects of learning. With a fixed
mindset, effort becomes an indicator that we lack talent: ”If I need to make an
effort, it means I am not good at it”. Since people with a fixed mindset do not
believe in the possibility of substantial improvement, they care much more
about their self-image. They want others to get the impression that they are
smart, and to avoid making a fool of themselves.
During their life, they
will therefore choose tasks they can easily and visibly excel in. They will
avoid challenging learning situations with the risk of failure. They will try
to create the impression that they do things effortlessly. In the area of
language, they may lie about how long they really have already been learning a
certain language. I had quite a few students who during the presentation round
in the first lesson of a new course told the group they had started just some
weeks a ago to learn German; later, it surfaced that, in fact, they had been at
it for several years.
With a fixed mindset, we
avoid negative feedback that threatens our self-image. We seek, however, for
easy compliments. We therefore put all our efforts into becoming perfect in
some limited areas, where we most easily impress strangers. We may become great
in making small talk with the perfect intonation and pronunciation, learning
phrases by heart.
That is a reasonable
strategy, because most conversations with foreigners last only a few seconds or
minutes. We make sure that we ”collect” as many kind words and encouragements
as possible. ”Your English is EXCELLENT.”
However, if we are put to a
test, our knowledge has stayed quite superficial after many years. Every
foreigner we meet compliments us on our great XYZ. However, we cannot read
books, understand talk shows or sustain a longer conversation.
The ”fixed mindset”
strategy is visible also in the choice of learning tasks. Most of us left
school having been trained in visual learning. We are accustomed to black and
white boards, PowerPoint presentations, books and notepads. When starting with
a new language, we often avoid audio-only exercises because we feel ”uncomfortable”
with them. We say, we will do them ”later on”, as soon as we have mastered the
new language through mostly visual learning. Many students postpone working
with challenging audio materials for many years, because they never feel they
are ready to take the ”jump”. Visual learning becomes an easy addiction,
supported also by an increasing number of smartphone apps.
Then there are the clever
ones with a fixed mindset that cite body language experts and scientific
studies that state that the human mind processes 90% visual cues.
It is no coincidence that
many ”audio-oriented” crafts seem to disappear from children’s upbringing (like
music education, which itself has become infected with visual orientation
first).
The fact remains that
humans (except for the hearing impaired) communicate using sounds. So we need
to orient our language training toward listening and speaking, whether we find
that difficult at the beginning or not.
Setbacks and criticism
leads to different reactions in students with a growth or fixed mindset. The
latter will tend to drop out early on. They will try to diffuse negative
feedback, finding excuses and blaming others or “a lack of time”.
Students with a growth
mindset will take setbacks as a challenge. They are thrilled to learn something
new.
The GO Method
“I have been living in
Germany for years. I have gone through all the levels and sustained the
necessary exams. Nonetheless, I still make too many mistakes as to get a
serious employment in my profession.”
It is easy to start a foreign language. It takes only
practice and living abroad to get fluent. To learn the last (!) 5% and to speak
without mistakes, however, you will need completely different approach.
The GO Method helps you get rid of your chronic grammar and
pronunciation mistakes by applying psychology and principles of quality
management.
We offer corrective courses for some languages, as well a
general system for improving your use of any language. We support companies in
improving the language proficiency of key employees.
Gerhard J. Ohrband
Has helped more than 1200 students advance their studies and
professional career by obtaining excellent German and Spanish skills.
Psychologist and language teacher, from Hamburg /Germany
(*1979). Married, one son. MA in psychology from the University of Hamburg.
More than 15 years of experience as a university lecturer in psychology as well
as a consultant for UNICEF, Terre des Hommes, IOM, the EU and private
companies. Speaks 21 languages.
Contact
If you want to save time in learning a foreign language without
a teacher, please check out my book “The GO Method” on Amazon.
