Language Learning: A Natural Activity - Travel Every Day - page 25

Specifically, our brains want, first and foremost, to learn languages verbally. Combining
this consideration with the fact that the average American spends close to an hour every
day commuting, it's clear that the car is an ideal place to engage in language learning 1 . That
said, a few additional considerations are in order:

1. Most “learn in your car” methods are essentially worthless, in my exper-

ience. Typically these methods consist of little more than repeating some
phrases after the speaker or providing phrases when prompted. In addition
to being boring, such methods ignore the fact that language exists as a tool
for social interaction.

2. Driving safety should be the highest priority when learning while driving.

This means that both hands need to be on the wheel as much as possible,
and the lesson should not be paused at any time. Some methods will encour-
age listeners to pause the recording when they feel it necessary, but this is a
bad idea, firstly because pausing the recording takes attention off the road,
and you need to be alive to go on your trip. Secondly, pausing the record-
ing is not consistent with real-life experience: Once you arrive at your travel
destination, you'll find that no matter how well you've prepared, you won't
understand many of the words you hear, but responses will still be expected
in reasonable time. You won't be able to press pause on life to formulate an
answer, but instead will need to make educated guesses. Fortunately, with
the right kind of practice, you'll find yourself correct a surprising amount of
the time.

3. As awkward as it might feel, you really must speak out loud when you're

learning a new language. The importance of this consideration can't be over-
stated. An important part of language learning is training your mouth and
voice to make new sounds in an intelligible way. This is a physical skill that
can only be learned through practice.

Now, as for the actual process to follow when learning a new language, before you read
anything in your new language, I recommend that you investigate whether there is a
Pimsleur audio course available in that language 2 . Depending on which language it is,
Pimsleur will have anywhere from ten to one hundred lessons available, unless your de-
sired language is obscure. In fact, if you're on the fence regarding your choice of destina-
tion, you may wish to allow the availability of lessons to help guide your final decision of