This is a special day for me! Not only has my new bookrack come to my home and been neatly assembled (get ready for a second batch of multiple orders, Better World Books and Book Depository!), but my superbly cute, beloved nephew is also celebrating his 8th birthday today! Like avian dinosaurs, time does fly indeed – especially in these pandemic-stricken times. Nevertheless, this global health crisis should not hobble our precious productivity; therefore, since I have a sufficient amount of time available this day off of mine, I thought I would write an article to address a notion which is perhaps commonly propagated by those working in the marketing field.
I feel uneasy about an advertisement I saw one day, probably on Facebook although I'm not entirely sure (not about instant noodles though). It said something along the lines of "Speak English like a native speaker in 3 months!" or "Be fluent in English in 3 months with a money-back guarantee!" This sounds like a heaven on earth, doesn't it? Nevertheless, however enticing this language improvement offer is, how much truth actually lies in this sort of claim?
Despite the dubious legitimacy of the fully expressed form of the title of this post, I reckon that it is no sweat to work out the meaning which I would like to get across to my readership. For me, it seems to be a far-fetched idea that someone can accomplish such a linguistic goal in such a smidgen of time. The next couple of paragraphs will detail my argument explaining why this is very likely unrealistic and unachievable.
Firstly, let's investigate this matter by taking a look at the most responsible organ for the learning activity: the brain. While I completely agree that the capacity of this jelly-like asset of ours is absolutely wonderful, we need to keep in mind that it is not "perfect" and does possess limitations. The evolution of humans has allowed such a remarkable contraption to equip us in 21st-century life, but it is not an über-powerful tool that we can employ to do anything we want. Think about the speed at which we process information and how much our brain can really retain. Think about the fact that our education system involves a good number of stages that we have to pass step by step, with the lower levels being prerequisites for the higher ones. Just like evolution itself, it is observable that graduality is a huge norm in our day-to-day life.
Now let's turn to our role models in regard to language abilities: native speakers. Did it take them only a couple of months to master their mother tongue from when they were born? Well, one could argue that the brain was not fully developed when they were babies, but if you think about it, it is the numerous years an adult native speaker has spent which imparted to them a whole armamentarium for native-level communication (lexical resource, grammatical range and awareness, etc.). A significant amount of exposure is definitely important to language acquisition and, admittedly, it is a privilege that native speakers automatically have – this should not discourage us from improving our proficiency in the target language, however.
I think it is safe to say that the same concept can be applied to not only language learning, but other areas as well. Promotional messages such as "Be the next Ade Rai in 6 months!" or "Master piano skills and outdo Jay Chou in 3 months!" sound alluring indeed although I probably have (almost) never heard such arresting utterances.
Of course, notwithstanding what I have laid out, I could be wrong. Probably those kinds of companies have devised super methods that enable their customers/clients to acquire a certain set of skills at lightning speed, as if defying the laws of nature. Could this involve some sort of lobotomy or otherwise advanced body modifications? If true, then it is very interesting and I would certainly love to know the mechanisms that make such mind-blowing attainment possible. I am also aware that humans are born with different innate traits and qualities, with a handful of them being extraordinarily quick at mastering skills. Thus, there is a caveat indeed.
That being said, rather than actively seeking for seemingly implausible ways to instantly crank up my English proficiency, I myself would prefer to stick with what I have always believed to be the fundamental values in learning – love, enjoyment, curiosity, and the like.
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