A fun thread on mefi this morning, “What is the most efficient way to learn the native language of a country while traveling there on your own?”. One of the most interesting parts of this thread is that some of the commenters seem to have a natural feel for the language learning techniques I only learned in theory, in second language acquisition classes. Most of the good advice points to the relational aspect of language. Language’s base purpose is communication, and communication’s base purpose is relationship building… I guess it’s natural that the best way to learn language is to pursue relationships in the target culture. I used to think that it was just because target-culture relationships afforded more opportunity to practice the language. Now I think it’s more than that–there’s also something deeply, inherently motivating about target-culture relationships, how friendships drive us to want to communicate, and how the desire to communicate drives us in turn to learn the language.
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i think the relationship is just the surface of learning. The emotional side of relationship, which goes far deeper than we human can be aware of. I mean, every learning takes place with some sort of affects in it. Kluver and Bucy found (I guess in 70’s) that when monkeys’ tips of temporal lobe got removed bilaterally, the monkeys were not able to form new memory. Normal monkeys learn what’s edible, and what’s danger through experience, and fears (for preditors or poisonous plants). But these monkeys became fearless, without any fear towards snakes, and they tried everything through their mouth, not remember that something just got them bad experience and stuff…
I don’t see the link between fearlessness and relationships ;).
If you are saying that there is more to learning than just relationship-inspired-motivation i agree with you.
I’m only saying that it seems to be a big motivator, and one that people seem to realize innately even if they don’t realize why.
Yes, it’s called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Padver, yes. While Maslow’s hierarchy is an aweful simplification of the complexity of drives that buzzes around chemically in our brains, I see what you’re saying… But for me the real interesting part, and the point of my post, is that language learning is so tightly tied into the loop.