Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Beyond Human update on me, learning, and a few projects

well im gonna finally put my Personal genius memory supercharger and a bunch of accelerated learning techniques into use this semester. I think this will be my best semester of my college career.
Anyway I have so many goals and wishes, and things i say I could do that if i put in time everyday etc.etc. So besides my regular studies im gonna be writing a lt of fiction short stories mostly, brainstorming ideas. i want to try to get one novel published obvisouly not in a smeesters times.
Another goal that ive had for a long time and waht initially led me here is foreign language learning.
Im gonna research as many products i can having to do with tomatis effect. Sounds frequencies pitches and tones. Retraining the ear. I think this is a key component to proper accent and pronounciation.
Another thing concerning foreign languages but also learning in general is teh fact that within the first 6 months of birth is when we are at our peak learning stage i wish my parents had played languages tapes etc when i was first born! ahh i cant, but maybe using paraliminals i can make it as so ive been exposed to languages and classical msuic as a baby or something. Anyway way off topic the main point was about tomatis effect. and similar tapes/cds. Im not interested in seeking out a clinic or anything which is supposedly the best and most authentic and quite expensive. IM interested with home methods. "The Listening Program" is quite expensive but seems like the highest quality home version. They also have some specialized cds for a more resaonable price compared to the entire program taht i may try out.

As always, comments suggestions ideas anything is welcome.

"Another thing concerning foreign languages but also learning in general is teh fact that within the first 6 months of birth is when we are at our peak learning stage"

Could you tell me where you get these figures from? The first 6 months doesn't sound right to me. Moreover, for what it's worth, I don't think, from what I've observed, that babies learn languages quickly or easily at all! I think this is one of those langauge learning myths! I find that I can learn a langauge much faster than any child. While the newly born is spending his first year gurgling, I am progressing to complex sentence patterns.

Do you mind me asking, have you actually started learning the language yet? It looks like you have fallen into the trap of talking about it and preparing for it rather than actually doing it. For what it's worth, I am guilty on taht score too, with many of my undertakings.

Even if you like languages, it's much more fun to turn on your PS2, blast a few aliens, and set your learning tasks aside for later.

i've been caught! , yeah man u hit the nail on the head, i definitely talk and think about doing a lot of stuff more than actually getting out there and doing it. its hard to fit in intense language sessions, especially an immersion protocol while being in college. but i definitely have to get off my butt and start something

do u have any suggestions since uve said uve been guilty of that urself
thanks

Suggestions? Hmm

The "Get Around To It" Paraliminal tape is a good boost to your motivation, but you need to work with it rather than against it. For example, it's no use taking the time to set up the Paraliminal session and then listen to the tape if, when it comes to the crunch - the moment where you have the choice either to sit at your desk and study, or veg out in front of the TV with a bottle of red and a take out pizza - it's no use if you don't put that little bit of effort in just to go and BEGIN to do what you know you should, when the time comes to take action. If you work with the tape, it will help you along enormously, although I recommend lots of top up sessions with it if you are going to do a full-blown immersion. I also recommend the learning tapes - "Personal Genius" and, of course, "Memory Supercharger".

Apart from that, it really is up to you. I have a very unhelpful lazy streak in me that I know it is up to me to retrain!

You asked about "Ultra Learn". I think it is a superb programme, with a lot of detailed information in it on many different learning aspects. On tape 4 there is a specific discussion about the role of "babbling" in learning to speak a new language - information I have not heard before. If you listen to "Immersion Protocol" again, there is a part where Dan Dimke speaks Chinese. His accent and intonation are very good! You can be sure he knows what he is talking about!

I have a question for you. Did you buy "Memeletics"? It looks very impressive. Is it?

i did buy memletics, and i was less than impressed with it, it does have many good learning techniques etc., but its basically more of the same, it discusses mnemonics, memory palace memory theatre, mind maps, many other different things. It talks about how u should get into a good learning state, being relaxed and in a quiet area etc. and also promotes the use of technology, such as supermemo, brainbuilder and others. The only thing that i found of value, and was "new" at least to me was the discussion about scheduled review and refresh sessions, freqeuncy and duration, and how a little bit every day or every few days can pay big dividends in ur memorization of material as it shifts from short to long term, im utilizing this for my current college classes.

"On tape 4 there is a specific discussion about the role of "babbling" in learning to speak a new language" - sounds interesting, from the programs i have from dimke ive been pretty pleased, so i think i might purchase ultra learn, is that the only real significant aspect of ultra learn that can be applied to foreign language learning?

thanks for the responses and replies, also on a quikc side note, are u on an ongoing process of continually improving ur japanese or have/are u attempting to learn others.

Hi TK

I'll have to listen to the Ultra Learn program again to answer that question. I remember that tape 4 had quite a bit on it to do with languages, but there might be more too. There is an awful lot in that program!

Thanks for the info about Memletics. More of the same, eh? I think I'll save my money. Do you have Memory Optimizer? The part about using moments during your day that are usually wasted sounds like the sam thing Vera was saying. But I suppose it's common sense if you think about it.

To answer your question about Japanese, yes, I am always learning more Japanese as I am always learning more of other languages, and, indeed, English!

I live in Japan in an environment where I have to speak Japanese all my working day. As I am writing this, there are three conversations going on around me in Japanese. My Japanese is at a level where I do not need to learn anymore. That doesn't mean I know it all - can anyone know all of any language? What I mean is that in order to keep improving, I need to learn new words and expressions that do not normally come up in my daily life or work, things like political terms, medical terms, and even dialect. The thing is, do I really need these words I will never use when I can function effectively with what I do know?

Finally, I don't attempt to learn languages. I learn them.

Here's a tip for learning to speak Japanese well:

Japanese is not a tonal language like Chinese or Thai. It does, however, have a pitch accent on certain words (which is less pronounced in northern Japanese). This means words that look the same when written in romaji may have two or more different meanings depending on where you place the pitch accent. The Japanese have a remarkable capacity for NOT understanding you, even when the context is clear, if you do not pronounce these words exactly the way they do. A classic example is "hashi" which can mean "bridge(s)", "chopstick(s)" or "blade(s)". If you make a sentence such as "Can you eat with chopsticks too?" but you use the pitch accent for "bridge", it will take a second or two for the meaning to click in, even in an obvious context such as that! Sometimes it will take a while for the penny to drop but it will often not drop at all! I have stood in front of a class with a picture of a Japanese castle in my hand, pointed to it, and said "How do you say "shiro" in English?" and the students have looked blank, until one of them ventures an answer, "White"!!! You guessed it - pitch accent dictates meaning!

Your textbooks will probably not say anything about pitch accent, let alone indicate where these pitfalls are, nor will most dictionaries. The one dictionary that I have that does is very basic and does not contain many of the words I want to look up.

Good luck!

thanks for the tips, the two languages i am focusing on learning (one at a time obviously) is farsi (persian) and mandarin chinese, but thank you anyway

Hi tk421,

I am also a college student. I didnt do well for my last semester though I used the paraliminal tapes.It maybe due to the way i used it.

Could you email me or share with me specially how you actually go about do it(using the tapes for studies)?

my email is js_lam88@hotmail.com

thanks
mage