Colloquia
Join David Sigrist the Linguist and the minds behind the Immersio platform as we have meaningful, yet informal conversations about the intersection of language, education, and technology. Listen in on discussions with innovators, educations, and thought leaders who are shaping how we learn and teach languages in an increasingly connected world. Whether you’re a language school owner, local instructor, or simply passionate about learning, Colloquia offers accessible explanations, inspiring stories, and actionable ideas to help us all create a world where any language can be learned and spoken by anyone.
Colloquia
How are mind and language connected?
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What if the traditional methods of language learning are holding us back from true fluency? Join me, Sigrist the Linguist, as I challenge conventional wisdom and share my transformative journey from laborious grammar drills to immersive experiences that make language come to life. From my escapades in ancient languages like Latin and Attic Greek to a deeply immersive experience in Mexico, we explore how cognitive linguistics and genuine communication can unlock the secrets of language learning. This episode is a call to move beyond rote memorization and embrace a world where language is internalized naturally through meaningful use and interaction with the benefits of digital media and new technologies.
We'll scratch the surface of some of the "cognitive linguistic " underpinnings of language acquisition, which reveal how our minds and bodies shape our understanding and expression of language. We'll discuss how physical, "embodied" experiences and conceptual metaphors inform our linguistic constructs, with examples like the use of vertical space for emotions and the influence of the base 10 counting system.
Educators and learners alike will gain practical strategies for integrating these insights into their language practice, enhancing engagement and effectiveness.
Stay tuned as we also tease the upcoming exploration of cognitive processes in language with our next segment of "How Language Means." Subscribe now for a fresh perspective on language fluency and a treasure trove of immersive experiences from Immersio.
Hello world. This is Sigrist, the Linguist from Immersio, and welcome back to Colloquia, episode 2, how Are Mind and Language Connected? Last time, I introduced the podcast and we did a little thought experiment to help us realize how language is simply everywhere in our daily lives when we wake up, when we read the news, talk with our friends, listen to podcasts. Today, we're asking the question how does our mind make sense of all these words and create meaning from them? This will lead us to some practical answers to the next question. Is there, then, a more natural way to learn languages as we understand how our mind and body work together? In order to do this? I'm going to introduce you with just a very simple introduction to a field of linguistics that has completely shifted how I think about mind and language, and it's one that I pursued my doctoral studies in, and we're going to call these segments how Language Means. I'm going to introduce you to an approach for understanding language that focuses on how we, as human beings with bodies, not computers or AI agents how we conceptualize the world around us, and the reason I'm doing this is because this ties to Immersio's mission. At Immersio, we exist to empower language instructors to give their learners experiences where they are truly immersed in the language or the subjects that they want to learn. We know that becoming fluent in the language means going beyond lists of words or grammar rules, that you need to have genuine communication between humans and to be able to creatively think in the world of the language you're learning. It's through those connections and those relationships that words and rules will become internalized and develop a permanent fluency that you're not going to forget the next week. So if you're curious about understanding the connection between mind and language and how this can revolutionize how you teach or learn, and language, and how this can revolutionize how you teach or learn, today we'll discuss the core ideas behind the field of cognitive linguistics. I'll talk about some practical ways to apply them, whether you are a language teacher, an enthusiastic learner or just a curious mind. Before we do that, though, I want to take a few minutes and, trust me, just a few minutes to share a bit about my language journey, how I got here, so you can understand why I so strongly believe in these ideas that we're beginning to unpack today.
Speaker 1:I've actually learned languages in some very different ways. My first big plunge was learning Latin and ancient Greek in high school and, as a lover of Greco-Roman history, it was a no-brainer for me to take Latin as my foreign language Although I know this is not common for public high schools in North America and I also acquired a few ancient Greek books along the way a few ancient Greek books along the way. So I had these old books and they're packed with tables and lists of verb conjugations and dense explanations of grammar concepts. If you've ever had one of these grammars, you know what I'm talking about, and I would sit there for hours and pour over the clenchings they're called and the case endings Servus servii, servo, servum servo, and I would read sentences like In Greek. I could take a sentence and I could tell you what the case, the number, the gender, whatever of each word was, and I could give you what is quote-unquote a translation but was actually a live rendering into awkward English, something like the person, having run, gave the sword of the master to the servant and whatever. While that method definitely gave me a solid foundation for understanding grammar, I plateaued pretty quickly. What I mean is I got started reading after about a year or two, but I would need to have a dictionary or a grammar guide in hand to read anything of substance, like what I wanted to do, like read Caesar's Gallic Wars or Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. There was no real conversation, of course, and whenever I tried to have one, it was more just a few phrases. Later on I listening to dialogues, practicing sentences with classmates during class, and there's actually a pretty funny video series. It worked to a point, but again I felt it was just really inefficient, going through so many motions rather than just trying to truly communicate in German auf Deutsch.
Speaker 1:The real turning point for me came when I had to learn Spanish in a total immersion environment. I lived in Mexico for a year to teach English and I was basically thrown into situations where English was not an option. I just had to figure it out on the fly. I even remember when I landed at the airport in Mexico City, the driver who was supposed to find me didn't show up, and there I was at the airport with these two big suitcases and virtually no idea how to get to this address, which at least I had. So I did what I'm sure many of you have had the experience of if you've lived or traveled in a country where they speak a different language.
Speaker 1:You use gestures, you kind of guess from the context. You string together any phrases you know and you talk with people. At least I knew how to say ¿Dónde está el baño? Interestingly enough and this might be a cool episode in and of itself I started to see the value of how my Latin language background served me, because so many Spanish words have Latin roots or they're related to the English ones, and eventually I internalized these patterns and I figured out basically how you construct Spanish from Latin, which helped a lot. I figured out the system for words like from gracias to gracias, amare to amar, omine to hombre and so on. So the point is it was nothing like my earlier memorization or grammar translation method of learning and it was challenging, but it also showed me how powerful and really at times, how fun immersion can be and the satisfaction of actually thinking and developing fluency in a new language, because at times in my life, even after years of not speaking a word of Spanish, it can come back to me in a moment when I need to speak with someone If you fast forward.
Speaker 1:Eventually I got my TESOL certification to teach English in Canada and it was there when I first discovered the principles of, and it was there when I first discovered the principles of communicative language teaching. I had this aha moment when I realized that if we can apply these interactive, learner-centered methods with modern languages like English, why don't we try something similar for ancient languages like Syriac or ancient Hebrew? They obviously used it as a language and we have the same brains that they did. Yes, obviously there's a problem that there's no native speakers. But my thoughts went to don't we have digital media now and new technologies to help us bridge this gap or at least simulate it? I knew that there had to be a way to create an environment, virtual or not, where people could speak, listen, read, in other words, immerse themselves on demand, anytime, anywhere, even with an ancient language. That seed of an idea is what grew into what is now Immersio.
Speaker 1:Over the years, as I continued to teach English and onboard other instructors, as I developed my own curriculum for both English and ancient languages, I eventually wanted to take my technology understanding to the next level. So I pursued a Master's of Digital Media, and there I met my co-founder, phuong, or Winston, because together we saw the potential business model going from his experience running a language institution in Vietnam, and so we dreamed that we could create a platform for instructors, learners and the owners themselves to enable any language to be learned by anyone, whether you're trying to learn English in Vietnam, latin in Germany or Muscree slash Ilimoan in Canada. Our core mission is to take research-driven techniques, proven teaching methods, whether they're from cognitive linguistics or second language acquisition theory, and combine those with digital technologies to make a different kind of platform. So that's the backstory. Now I want to take some time to dive into some key ideas of what cognitive linguistics is, so that you can learn some more intuitive ways to help your students. So, first of all, what is cognitive linguistics is? So that you can learn some more intuitive ways to help your students.
Speaker 1:So, first of all, what is cognitive linguistics? In the simplest terms, it's the idea that the experience and the physical makeup of our bodies and our minds shape how we use language. It's more of an approach than a scientific theory. One way to think about it is this If language were simply a code, like a series of zeros and ones in a computer, then perhaps memorizing grammar rules of vocabulary would be enough. But we humans are not machines. We don't just generate language from this universal code base in our brains. No, we understand words and phrases and expressions in the context of experiences, the images that we form in our minds as we receive or produce language, the references that we share as individuals and societies all are intertwined with our minds and our bodies, how we perceive the world and how we conceive of the world. So why does this matter for language learning?
Speaker 1:Well, I say often that if you focus only on the flashcards or repeating rules so as to memorize them, you might, with some grit, end up knowing a lot about a language, but you're going to struggle to actually use the language in a meaningful way. That's why having a cognitive approach is crucial. Whether you realize it's cognitive or not, it helps us see that words are connected to bigger ideas in our minds. Words are connected to bigger ideas in our minds. There's a phrase that I use to encapsulate all these ideas Repeated meaningful use. This phrase repeated meaningful use has become my axiom, because it reminds me that every time we receive or produce language in a real context, that is what cements it in our mind to learn more.
Speaker 1:Take just an idiom, for example If someone says that they're spilling the beans or they're nervous and have cold feet, you can memorize these expressions word for word, but if you understand that these expressions are metaphors, that is, they're comparisons that are rooted in how we conceptualize the world, you're going to have a much easier time remembering and using them correctly. You'll see how, in English, when we talk about revealing secrets, as if we're dumping out beans from a can, or feeling nervous, as though we literally have cold feet and are hesitating, that imagery or that physical sensation is what the cognitive approach brings to the table. Have you ever felt that struggle when you're learning a new language? You're like why can't I remember this word? I've read it a thousand times. Or why doesn't this grammar pattern click? I just don't understand how to use it. Cognitive linguists might say well, it's because you haven't connected that new term or the new structure to an actual concept in your mind, an image or an experience or a cultural reference point that's meaningful. When you do make that connection, when that word or phrase isn't just a snippet, but when it's grafted on, so to speak, to your understanding more widely, then you'll be able to think in the new system and the word will become permanent.
Speaker 1:For language teachers, this could be a game changer. Instead of just telling students here's the rule, apply it. Cognitive linguists would encourage us to ask if they were our coaches, or something like this. How can we connect this rule to an experience? If we give students the images, the metaphors and the context, we can tap into that deeper layer of cognition, and that's where real fluency is going to happen.
Speaker 1:Now, at Immersio, we place a very big emphasis on these insights because it aligns with our immersive approaches. We want learners, whether they're studying French or Greek or Squamish, to experience these new words and phrases through repeated, meaningful use and context. That makes sense to them wherever they're at, whether they're beginners or advanced or have a very niche use case. That might mean having interactive exercises for them to practice, seeing visual stories, enacting mini role plays. With the system, the key is to let learners use the language and not just learn about it, and when there's an instructor or a tutor who's building the content for you and developing a connection with you personally, it's going to stick that much better. And ultimately, that's the big shift that we want to see is that learners go from memorizing information about a language, which admittedly can't have a use, to engaging with it, using their minds and their bodies to become really fluent, now that we have an idea of what cognitive linguistics is.
Speaker 1:I want to talk about three different concepts from the field to help illustrate in a deeper way how it can help us learn and teach languages. The first concept is embodiment. Simply put, this concept says that our physical experiences and our mental conceptions and how we perceive the world through our senses, these shape how we understand and use language. Take a phrase like I'm feeling down today or that news lifted my spirits. It shows us how, as English speakers, we can use vertical space to talk about emotions up and down. Why is this? Well, as humans, many of us, if not most, we physically experience down as negative or lower energy, and we experience up as positive or uplifting, energizing energy. Even the adjectives I'm using negative, lower, positive. These are all metaphors we could talk more about.
Speaker 1:Let me give you another example. Many languages use a base 10 system for counting, like English, where we go 20, 21, 22, and so on to 30, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42, 43, instead of, say, a base 7 system or a highly divisible base 16 system, like hexadecimal for you programming nerds out there. Why is there this tendency to use base 10? Well, most humans have 10 fingers and many of us use fingers to count, so it's common for languages to reflect this physical reality the experience of counting with 10 fingers. I know this is a simple example, but it illustrates the point that our physical experiences in our body shape how we think about and use language. For teachers, think about this. Instead of giving students a list of expressions, you can create activities that engage with the body or draw on very concrete experiences. For example, if you're teaching verbs of motion like to go up in Spanish, subir or to go down, you could have the learners physically look up or walk up or go down steps, maybe raise an object, lower an object. It might sound kind of simple, but these physical cues can anchor the language to an actual experience and it's going to make it easier to remember.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the next concept conceptual metaphors. I talked a little bit about metaphors when I mentioned the expressions spilling the beans or having cold feet, but conceptual metaphor goes deeper than this that underneath the language, that is, the words that we see, there are mental models of how we conceive of the world that are then represented in language, even if we're not aware of them. For example, in English we talk about time as a resource. We spend time, we save time, we spend time, we save time, we waste time, we run out of time. All those phrases come from the underlying conceptual metaphor that time is money. That's actually an expression in English, too Time is money.
Speaker 1:If you're a language instructor, a great exercise might be have learners compare how they talk about common experiences, like time or emotions, in their native language versus the target language that you're teaching. You'll probably discover some interesting differences, some parallels. In Spanish they talk about losing time, which lines up with our metaphor, wasting time. But you might find completely different ways of thinking about time, and that's an interesting conversation. It's understanding these deeper conceptual metaphors that can help learners realize that grammar and vocabulary, they're more than just these isolated inputs to learn. They're part of the bigger system of the language. They're trying to learn that there's this big spectrum between vocabulary and grammar, and once you see that system, you can better than deduce the meaning of idioms that you're not familiar with, or you can create new expressions in the target language much more naturally. It's all about connecting the dots between language and thought. There's so much more we could say here, but I'll leave it there for now.
Speaker 1:The last concept we'll talk about in this episode is the usage-based theory. It's one of my personal favorites. This approach tells us that language learning is not just about storing rules in our heads, like reading a dictionary. It's understanding that how words or rules are used is because of usage. That usage determines the meanings of words. For example, what does the word manufacture mean? Usage determines meaning. So English speakers use the word manufacture to talk about how machines or some technology makes something, to talk about how machines or some technology makes something, like a cell phone or a kitchen table. And when we say something is manufactured, that's the opposite of being handmade. But did you know that the word manufacture comes from the Latin manufactura, a making by hand, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what manufacture means today? So, despite the etymology we call it or the history of a word, it's the usage that determines the meaning, whether we're talking about our native language or new languages. The patterns that we see, the patterns that we use over and over, become embedded in our minds and that's how words become meaningful. That's why I created this axiom repeated meaningful use.
Speaker 1:So if you want to master a language, it's not just memorizing the grammar rule once and moving on. It's not about just listening or watching the story once. So if you, as an instructor, can introduce new words or new grammars as something that's demanding enough to warrant attention, demanding enough to be important, if you point it out, to make it salient enough that you can recognize it and say this is a thing, if you can make it relevant to what your learners want to do, if you do it a sufficient number of times, your learners are going to become fluent, no question, and I bet the experience is going to be a lot more interesting and a lot more fun than memorization and even more fun than gamification memorization and even more fun than gamification. This is, in part, why learners tend and again I say tend not to do well with the generic language apps that are out there. Again, many I'm not saying all many of them are designed to be maximally engaging, to keep the people playing like a game, but they're not necessarily maximally educational, they're not maximally useful.
Speaker 1:This is why, with Immersio, we're trying to make it as quick and easy for instructors to design tailor-made lessons where their students can encounter a specific context in different meaningful situations. That is what's going to make the student ultimately successful in what they want to learn. That is what's going to make the student ultimately successful in what they want to learn. That's what's going to create meaningful use of the language. All right, that brings us to the end of today's episode, but certainly not the end of this conversation.
Speaker 1:To recap, we explored how language is deeply rooted in the experience and the makeups of our minds and bodies, and how concepts from cognitive linguistics like embodiment, conceptual metaphors and usage-based approaches, those shape the way that we understand and learn languages and so should influence how we teach them.
Speaker 1:If there's one takeaway from this, I want it to be that understanding language as part of our lived cognitive experience, rather than just a set of rules, will transform how you learn or how you teach, and this insight is the core to how we have built the Immersio platform. Our main metric is not how can we keep learners engaged for the maximum amount of time with our own content like TV shows or advertisements, no, no, our main metric is how can we make learners fluent in anything in the shortest amount of time, and this happens by empowering instructors to make that content in the easiest and most intuitive way we can and to create a business model around it so everyone succeeds. Thank you so much for listening to us here at Colloquia.
Speaker 1:If you did find value in this episode, consider subscribing or following us wherever you get your podcasts from, and if you're curious to learn more, check out the Immersial Resources linked in the show notes and follow us there. And stay tuned for our next episode of how Language Means, where we're going to talk about. The next question how do our minds come to know language in the first place? Again, thanks for listening.