Category: Fluency
Newsletter: 10 November 2011
Dear Friends,
Language is dialogue. This is a followup to my last letter in which I mostly talked about your own language, your own style, how you express yourself. But in fact, I have to admit that it stopped short – It didn’t get beyond you.
Language is dialogue. You’re not alone. If your language is like the clothes you wear and choosing your own style … well, it’s not enough to just talk to yourself in front of a mirror … Language is dialogue. And your choice of style has as much to do with yourself as it does with the community you live in and the people who make up your world. Yes, people first judge you by the clothes you wear and … even more, by the way you speak, by the way you express yourself.
Dialogue is feedback. Whether you’re talking to an audience of 2000 or whether you’re talking to one individual, adapting your speech to those you’re speaking to is like making the first move in a game of chess. You make a move. Your partner makes a move. You speak to a large audience; they respond. You feel it. You speak to someone you know. You get a response. It doesn’t matter who begins. It’s a dialogue. You’re always picking up where you left off.
Of course, we all know people who speak to themselves even when they’re speaking to others. How can I say that? We hear them every day. In person. In schools. In meeetings. People looking at themselves in a mirror … with polite onlookers. Have you ever seen anyone holding a phone at a distance from their ears?
Dialogue is listening. And reacting. Dialogue is pause. Dialogue is in time. Do you send and receive email? textos? How quick do you answer? What sort of dialogue is going on? Do you pick up on someone’s style and answer with the same tone?
It seems to me that so much misunderstanding between people comes from a failure to listen. In fact, talking back and forth … without a dialogue.
Two monologues. Each party listening to himself, herself.
When you take the time – and yes, I mean the time – to listen… or to read and take the time and make the effort to think about what others are telling you, are saying … then in fact, before saying a word, before asking a question, you’ve opened … a dialogue. A healthy one.
The best dialogues are those that last a long time. Those that never end.
Who are those with? That’s the definition of … friends. Friends listen.
When you practice the art of listening … you open a dialogue. And to do that, you need language. But you also need one thing more: courage. The courage to listen.
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Newsletter: November 3, 2011
Language is such a personal thing. As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, we are all individuals with our own very unique styles and personalities. And we have so many facets!
Language is like the clothes we wear: the colors we choose, the styles we select for the occasion, the materials we feel comfortable wearing. Our vocabularies are like our wardrobes. In professional situations, we dress and act one way while when we’re out with friends or family, we might dress and act differently. We don’t dress and act in the same ways at home and in public. And we express ourselves stylistically according to the mood we’re in, the company we’re with … and, of course, according to the weather! The same goes for the language we use.
What sort of a person are you? Are you someone who loves to meet new people and explore new things? Do you have a tendency to be more introverted or extroverted? Are you more of a “talker” or are you more of a “listener?” How old are you? What sort of environments are you at ease in? Which situations do you avoid? Are you a traveller or a stay-at-home?
What sort of background do you come from? Are you more emotional or rational? Are you a reader or a watcher?
Of course, these are not absolutes. Every one of us, like the weather, is in a permanent stage of change. One day we’re smiling and on another … we’re not.
These are all questions which affect the language we use: both spoken and written.
As you develop your language skills, may I make a suggestion? Develop your own personality along with it! One of the keys to learning a language, including your native one, has to do with keeping up-to-date … with yourself!
No matter how young or how old you are … your language is YOUR language! Adopt, integrate into your “wardrobe” the words and expressions you like, the words you need. Think and act as yourself, your own self!
After all, we are all unique individuals! Of this I’m sure: we’re never too young … nor too old to try to say just what we want to try to say …. Unless you have a tendency towards frustration, don’t strive for perfection … excellence is good enough!
Thanks for reading The Paris Savannah Connection!
Mark
PS: You’ll never get to your goal without taking a risk!
Related Images:
Sidney Lumet – The Last Word
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In Burgundy, It’s All About Terroir, by Eric Pfanner and Stefana Russell
By ERIC PFANNER for the New York Times, Published: September 16, 2011
ALOXE-CORTON, FRANCE — In an 18th-century cellar under his family home in this village in Burgundy, Franck Follin-Arbelet pulls the corks on two of his 2009 red wines. Each comes from a vineyard in Aloxe-Corton. Each has the same quality imprimatur, premier cru. Each was made from the same grape variety, pinot noir.
Stefania Rousselle
Franck Follin-Arbelet, left, at work in Aloxe-Corton.
Stefania Russell
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Newsletter Sept. 6, 2011
Where in the world did I leave my keys?? I can’t find my glasses anywhere … Do you remember the title of that movie with Fred Astaire … you know the one with the buried pot of gold?
There are so many things to remember! How do you say “Je me souviens” in English? Oh, right, I remember! And what’s the word for ‘gloves’ in French?
In fact, if you really want to get good in a foreign language, one of the things you need …. is a memory. Fortunately, most of us are born with one that’s pretty incredible. Having a brain is a starting point. Using some of it for storage – quite like the HD of a computer or even the vaporous cloud, is the second step. A little focus, devote some energy to concentration … and then … the key is:
repeat.
Once, twice, three times … 4 … 5 … 6 …. 7. That’s the magic number. Repeat something a few times, up to 7 even and you’ll likely remember it.
Of course it does take a little effort. But then, what doesn’t? You get what you pay for! That’s the price of the investment!
The curious thing about repeating is that we won’t necessarily learn anything if we just repeat things in the same way. Only smart parrots do that. We need to link them to something. They need to stick. Like glue. Try learning a word, a line like an actor or actress memorizing a text…in a context, with feeling, with emotion. Say it out loud, say it soft, whisper it, shout it! Say it with anger. Make it sincere … or make it sarcastic. Make it ironic …. make it happy. Say it with love. Mobilize your …. emotional memory. You’ll remember better. And longer.
You can learn – that’s to say – acquire, and that’s to say, remember just about anything you want for the price of … taking the time to … think it, feel it and repeat it. Do it over and over again. In time. Once or twice today, once or twice tomorrow, once or twice in a few days … and the miracle is … that later on, in a week or two or in a month, a year from you’ll recall it… and quickly.
True for words, true for images if you look; true for sounds if you listen; True for facts … and true for fiction. Propaganda works that way.
Repetition. A two-edged sword. Because our memories are not only voluntary: learning as we want through repetition. We have extraordinary capacities and … we can unconsiously and involuntarily remember even what we don’t intend to …
Just for fun … let your memory work for you today!
Related Images:
The Smithsonian Folkways Collection
Real voices of real people with real emotion. Much of the collection is freely available and downloadable on iTunesU. As Pete Seeger said … “If you’re ever feeling a little down … listen to what these people have to say!” Music from the heart and soul. And what music! Enjoy.
The Smithsonian Folkways Collection
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