As Gerald Edelman said: “L’expérience sculpte la conscience”, the experience will shape conscience, which, applied to language learning means that, in order to internalise a language more efficiently one needs to “experience” it, to feel it.
One way of doing this is by creating your own affirmations or mantras and repeating them over and over for a few minutes. In this way you are combining the two most important elements in learning: repetition and emotion.
It’s scientifically proven that saying something out loud helps much more than reading it or saying it silently to yourself.
“Learning and memory benefit from active involvement. When we add an active measure or a production element to a word, that word becomes more distinct in long-term memory, and hence more memorable”
– Colin M. Macleod, professor & chair of the department of psychology at Waterloo
We learn what we repeat.
We internalise what we experience.
So, now you can see the connection between repeating lines over and over and going beyond learning to internalising.
But there is a difference between repeating lines you have been told to repeat and repeating meaningful lines that are particularly relevant to you. And what is more relevant to you that a line or mantra that you have created?
How to create your own mantras or affirmations?
Step 1: Journal or free-write for 20 to 30 minutes. Do not censor or restrict yourself and do not stop to correct your words. If a word doesn’t come to your mind, just resort to your mother language. Without over-analyzation or personal judgment, let it flow freely. Writing it down will help you to gain clarity on what is most pertinent for you in the current moment.
If you are a beginner and feel you can’t express in Spanish in this way yet, you can journal in the language you feel more confident or in your mother language first and then follow the next steps in Spanish.
Step 2: Decide what is it you want to focus on. Once you have the idea in your mind, turn it into a declarative statement. For example, if you want more relax in your life, write something like: I am relaxed. I have time to rest. I enjoy life calmly…. Anything that speaks to you. Remember to make it positive. I am relaxed is better than I am not stressed.
Step 3: Repeat. Take 5 or 10 minutes to sit quietly and repeat your sentence. Or walk slowly while repeating it.
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