If I can give my two cent’s worth, mindfulness —however you wish to define it— can be an excellent tool to learn any new skill, including a foreign language.
I have been asked several times how I learned all these many languages.
I have been asked about my own personal techniques or methods, about what strategies to follow or what shortcuts to take. And while it might true that there’s a certain approach I like to take to learn a new language, namely, studying first basic grammar and then advance quickly through the motions of understanding basic to mid-level conversations, books and so on; there is often this one bit of advice that gets overlooked. And that is the practice of mindfulness meditation.
I will try to explain why it is important and why it could potentially help you too.
The Buddhist term we use in English as mindfulness has its origin in the Pāli term sati and in Sanskrit smṛti. This term could be roughly translated as remembering or recollection. In the Satipațțhāna-sutta the term sati means to maintain awareness of reality, whereby the true nature of phenomena can be seen. the Satipațțhāna-sutta is one of the most celebrated discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism, which is, in turn, the foundation for contemporary vipassanā meditational practice.
At the beginning of the practice of mindfulness, we place attention on what is called ‘objects of consciousness’, such as the breath, our bodily sensations, or the sounds from our surroundings.
At the very early stages of the practice, we struggle to keep our attention on the objects we choose and instead we cannot help but to get lost in thought, again and again. The practice consists therefore time and time again of paying attention back to the objects of consciousness that one chooses. With time and effort this leads to what is known as Shamata in Sanskrit which could be translated as tranquility or serenity —that is, a kind of concentration which brings calm and mental clarity, ideal to learn a new language. This type of concentration typically produces feelings of euphoria and elation.
While the practice of concentration does not lead to nibbana or nirvana, it is certain that you need a degree of concentration to practice mindfulness and achieve mental peace. And here is where mindfulness should vastly improve your productivity in terms of learning a foreign language.
In order to arrive at what is named mindfulness one needs concentration. Concentration is completely necessary to keep your mind on your work subject, in this case on the language you’re learning.
If I could give you an advice, this would be it.
Check out my podcast episode on mindfulness meditation:
https://learninglanguagesinsocietywithgabi.com/008
Check out the topics I touched on with Gabrièu Pelisson:
https://learninglanguagesinsocietywithgabi.com/article005_gabrieu_occita
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