– Is it true that only children can learn a second language easily? Why do you think that? What is the evidence?

 

Many people believe that only children can learn a second language easily. I believed once, but recently I think it’s just the opposite. Everyone, whatever their age, can learn a new language easily and effectively if they use the correct method. I believe it because of the author of The Third Ear had done it at the age of 24. If we dig deeply, we can find many of the people who are quite “old” managed to successfully learn a second language easily and readily. Further more, there is no evidence that a person would loss the ability to learn a foreign language easily when he or she turns to adulthood.

 

– Share your experience of learning English in a traditional foreign language classroom.

 

I had been learning English since primary school until I graduated from university. The English classes were all the same – we were taught in a traditional way. Normally the teacher stood in front of the class, said a word or phrase, told us what it meant and asked us to repeat with him or her. Instead of practicing listening or speaking, we focused on grammar more. It’s quite important, even vital, for us to speak and write in a ‘right’ way with the perfect grammar. So we all ended up English ‘dumb’. What a let down!

 

-Share your experience of learning English in a brain friendly way.

 

Since learning with Kungfu English, I don’t have to think the ‘right’ way to express what’s in my mind finally. What I need to do is simply say it out loud or write it down despite the grammar. It’s a great relief to me. When I focus on the meaning instead of the grammar, I feel free. My brain starts to work for me, not again me. What a brain friendly experience!

 

– Tell a story about the most boring class you ever attend at school. Describe this in as much detail as you can.

 

There was a time I joined a summer program on Mathematics. That was a totally disaster for me. The teacher there simply wrote everything in the textbook to the blackboard without saying a word. We were requested to copy everything the teacher wrote into our notebook. This sort of thing lasted for a whole 45 minutes. What was the point? I could barely keep my eyes open, I didn’t understand many of the formulas, and I couldn’t help to drift off somewhere else. I asked myself again and again: Why I need to attend this class if the teacher just taught me nothing at all. Reading the textbook would have the same effect as this class do. What a boring class!