Conversation started Aug 1, 2015 at 7:42.
Damkerng T.
Damkerng T.
Aug 1, 2015 07:42
On swimming a lot
It's not really about swimming. It's about how to become good at something.
I think everyone must have heard this kind of advice: just keep doing it, you will get better.
I think it's more or less true.
But not necessarily efficient.
This is practically the same in almost every developmental skill.
In swimming, you need to swim a lot to become good at it.
You want to be very good at playing the violin? You sure need to play it a lot.
You want to be a good dancer. Don't just sit around!
it's the same in language learning, we have to practice. A lot!
But is "a lot" enough?
For some people, they seem to be gifted at what they do. Some could swim like a fish. Some could play the violin like Vivaldi. Some could dance like Michael Jackson. Some could run just like wind.
They're so natural at what they do.
Unfortunately, not every one of us can do it as easily as they can.
For some people, they can still barely swim even after swimming for a decade.
For some people, their moves aren't qualified as dancing, no matter how hard they try.
For some people, playing tennis years after years doesn't make them even qualified a Wimbledon.
(That's perhaps true for most of us, by the way.)
And for many of us learners, learning a second language years after years could be very frustrating because it could feel like we don't get anywhere.
We still can't read right, listen right, write right, or even speak right!
Let's think about it more carefully.
Can we make an Olympiad swimming by just having him or her swim a lot?
Is just swimming a lot enough?
(to be continued, probably elsewhere ;-)
^*we could feel like we don't go anywhere; *swimmer
 
Conversation ended Aug 1, 2015 at 7:59.