The importance of an original idea
Monday, November 27, 2006
While I sit here trying to think about what to write, I realize that the word "trying" is key. I have no idea what to write because I am trying to hard. Just stopping thinking led me to write what I am writing now. I didnt think about it, it just came out. The reason for the title is because I wanted to write something that everyone else hasnt written about. I wanted to write something that maybe would inspire, or at least inject a grain of minimal understanding into how best to approach many things in life.
I taught my students recently about the way a child learns–how they don't try to think about what they are doing, they just do it. And if they can't do it immediately, they continue to go for it, or they ask for help. But in asking for help and seeing how it is done, they quickly learn how to do it for themselves and don't require another person's assistance. By not trying and not thinking too hard I don't mean to imply that we shouldn't make use of our brains when learning something new, like language for instance. But, rather, we should strive to be a like a little kid and just do it.
I think I had some sort of epiphany a few weeks ago when I recalled a similar sentence uttered by so many people. I have been learning Chinese for quite some time but it has only been recently that I have started to get the hang of it. People ask me, "Do you know Bo Po Mo Fo?" "Do you know how to write?" Can you find characters in the dictionary using the radical index?" "Can you read Chinese characters?" To each of these, I answer "Yes." I am not fluent by any means, but I never stop. The common sentence uttered by all of these people was and is, "That is quite difficult." They say this to me as if learning the language is something that can't be done because it is supposedly difficult.
I believe that if at the time a child is learning to walk, and the parents continually told it, "You know, walking is quite difficult. You have to get used to moving both legs at the same time, while maintaining your balance. You have to get used to walking on uneven surfaces and different textured surfaces, while at the same time, performing complicated tasks like brushing your teeth or catching a train." The child might never learn how to do it. I say this because of the little thing called negative reinforcement. Continually telling someone that something is difficult or very hard to understand while that person is learning it can be very disheartening.
My students often ask me, "How can I improve my English?" I tell them that living in Taiwan and not having access to daily speaking opportunities, it will be difficult. But I do believe that if you are serios about learning, you will make every effort to find chances to use the language. My point is this, when learning a new language, new skill, new instrument, new anything, don't "try" to learn it, just learn it. Let your mind go and pretend you are like a young kid who has just gotten on his first bicycle. His parents don't tell him anything technical or confusing, they just help him to get on it. They guide him, letting his feet push the pedals, let him watch them ride a bike, etc. If you fail the first time, just persevere. If we stopped learning English when we were 6 because we couldn't understand what our new grade 2 teacher was talking about, we would all be a lot worse for wear today.
The thing I told my students is this:
We learn the most when we try the least.
