Playing Around with Your Learning Potential

Would it be great to learn a foreign language in two weeks? There are people with this capability. In the movie The Edge, Anthony Hopkins' character was a avid reader who's mantra is "if one man can do it, so can another." If a special someone can learn something at accelerated pace, what is the formula for normal people to do this amazing mental feat?


In Colin Rose's book Accelerated Learning, it was proven that when humans engage the spirit, mind, and body into an activity, rapid learning engages. Your ability to learn is hyper accelerated when you have fun. Imagine sitting in French class and just writing french phrases over and over--yawn, right.


Now image going to the Montreal, or Paris and having to speak French to do everything. See yourself going on a scavenger hunt with your classmates thru Montreal, having to ask French speaking natives questions on the city history, get small items like bandaids for free as part of the game, and find directions to various landmarks. You and your classmate fumbling thru downtown Montreal moving to different places like the train station, library, or grocery store. I wager after a week of scavenger hunting in Montreal, French would be indelibly imprinted in your mind thru the game, thru doing the action, thru imposed usage, thru your personal ingenuity.


Let the games begin! Think of things you have to learn. Can you make it a game with yourself or with your peers? The game can even be role playing the professor. Tutoring others is termed as "3rd person learning" as researched by Walter Gong at San Diego State. This is another proven method of long retention of concepts. Take turns teaching, wear a mock pair of your professor's infamous the nerd glasses, don the Berkenstocks with socks, live it up, and laugh a lot. Laughter oxygenates the brain, making it ripe to learn. Fun and games don't have to stop by 5th grade. Play around with your learning potential. You now have license to invent your own games of genius. Go get 'em Einstein!