Many people believe that speaking foreign languages is for geniuses.
Or for little children, because they have a special talent for learning languages fast.
Children have a lot of curiosity. And they’re not worried about making mistakes.
If they don’t get it right the first time, they just repeat it as many times as necessary. They never give up.
Some articles describe bilingual people as gifted creatures.
- This may be flattering to those who achieve some success in a foreign language.
- But it’s a discouragement to many other people who are struggling with learning a language.
- Anywhere in the world, people feel lost when they try to speak the first words in another language.
- This is a natural feeling of insecurity. It’s not incompetence.
We often read: “Talent is overrated”.
I Say This Is The Understatement Of The Century
- It’s scientifically proved that innate talent is a myth.
- Some myths are extremely appealing to most of us.
- So, they become untouchable, almost sacred.
This question of innate talent is the focus of the new book Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Florida State University psychologist Anders Ericsson and science writer Robert Pool, The Myth of Talent
Ericsson and Pool argue that, with the exception of height and body size, the idea that we are limited by genetic factors—innate talent—is a pernicious myth.
“The belief that one’s abilities are limited by one’s genetically prescribed characteristics….manifests itself in all sorts of ‘I can’t’ or ‘I’m not’ statements,” Ericsson and Pool write.
I don’t mean to raise controversy, just want to demonstrate that you can become fluent in English, or in any other language that you choose, by adopting The Intensive Language Practice.
