What is hypnotism
Hypnotism is a form of progressive relaxation, either directed or self induced that eases your conscious mind so you will more easily accept positive suggestions. Hypnotism is not some trance in which someone has power over you. It is more on par with an alpha state you my have when you are driving down some long stretch of open highway and your mind is just more relaxed and open.
What are they applications of hypnotism for language learning
Hypnosis and language learning has been around for years here are some of the techniques that have been tried.
Past life regression and hypnosis for language learning
Past life hypnosis does not work and never will. It is based on the idea that you can recall a past life and remember the language you spoken in during that past life. It will never happen and if anyone can give me proof of this I would be curious, as I am 100% convinced this is all nonsense. In fact the amazing Randi has a million dollar reward for anyone who can prove such thing. I believe in God but being spiritual is not the same as being a supernaturalist.
Age regression hypnosis and language learning
This hypnosis will not work, but more probable than past life regression hypnosis when connected with language learning. It is based on the idea that you can go back with hypnotism to a time when you either herd a language when you were young, or open up the pathways of learning that were closed during adolescent.
Going back with hypnosis to a time when you were young and heard a language spoken perhaps by your parents or grandparents will not work fully. I think even if you could access some latent memories they would not be at a critical level for you to put it all together. However, I do recall words that my Ukrainian grandfather spoke to be when I was 2 years old and use them today when speaking Polish or Ukrainian which I am learning. So maybe you can access vocabulary you herd and forgot, using hypnosis. But I think using hypnotism it’s not enough, you need to access words and sentences and in many ways. If anyone has any experience with this I would be curious. I for sure use words I learned at age 2.
Age regression hypnosis for opening pathways
A few years ago I would say this would not work. I am pretty skeptical. But I think there is a reasonable body of mind body research to suggest that your conscious mind can influence automatic bodily process, especially connected with hormones. But connected with language learning, I think you brain has pruned away, therefore eliminated the brain cells that could give you language learning abilities of a child. So even if you could access and open these pathways with hypnosis, I think there would be nothing to open. But again I am curious what other people think about using hypnotism or progressive relation to open up pathways in the brain. I think there are ore efficient ways to learn a language.
What does not work with hypnotism and language learning
What really might help with hypnotism and language learning
So can hypnosis or self directed progressive relation help with language learning?
I think yes. Most of the resistance I encounter during my learning and teaching of languages is psychological self doubt and fear. If you can be fearless and have a take no prisoners’ attitude toward learning your target language, you will not need to any magic hypnotic bullet to implant a language in your brain. So if you use hypnosis or relaxation more as a motivational boaster, maybe it would help. Something that would remind you not to give up when learning a language, the hypnotic suggestion might be, when you hit the point of frustration this is when you start to learn your target language.
Motivational learning and my language learning program
I have included positive motivational phrases in my mp3 language program. But this is not hypnotic or hypnotism or anything like that, just some motivational phrases that are integrated into the program.
I read your comment on age regression and language learning. Can you cite any academic studies of this subject. I came to Canada as a child and quickly lost my English accent. I am curious if this could be recovered with age regression.
@rhiannon, do not give up. Some people take years and years to learn a language. Romanian is not as hard as Polish and I am not good with languages and I can speak it. Look you have to learn the words. There is not way you can just pick it up or go to a school and expect to start speaking the language. It will not work. You need to get a word list of about 2000 words and phrases and learn them with flashcards. Once you do this then you can start thinking about going to school or “picking it up”. You need to drill in 2000 words and phrases into your memory. I know its hard. Everyone of my students thinks its hard to learn a language but they do. You can hire a tutor really cheap there. But really its up to you to learn the phrases and once you do you will see you can speak any language. You will train your brain to learn. Ask any question you want but you can speak it.
If you can not remember the words create your own mnemonics or some mp3 files and listen over and over even in your sleep. Or many people into the bible read the bible over and over again in their target language starting with the most basic phases. I hope these ideas help with how to learn a language.
Hi, i am 23 years old and i am british. i moved to romania a year ago with my partner and our daughter. i am finding the lanuage very hard to speak and understand. im feeling lost and am thinking of moving home as i feel isolated. can you give me any advice on how to understand and speak the romanian language? thank you
Rhiannon – I can say : don’t give up and try, try, try …. When you really want (but really) you can do it. Foreign languages are not so hard o communicate – you should, must, have to,
need, can try and practice.
@A good advice or as we say in English “hear hear”.
@A, I am not ironic at all. I am 100% sincere, or at least I hope I am. I love your comments, I really mean that. “hear, hear” is an old English idiom which means I agree. Its funny but not Ironic in any way. Your comments are great. In fact one of my friends asked me who is “a” as he like reading what you wrote.
I’m no sure but I’m afraid you say it in English often with irony 🙂
Thanks for the explanation (I know that idiom 🙂 ), I like your blog. Regards your friend.
Can hypnotism help me remember a language that I spoke fluently as a child to the age of 5years old. I remember going to school, and my parents said that I didn’t speak any English at all at the time.
Currently I don’t remember any of this language.
Can I retrieve it back ?
Hi Suzan! Wow what language was that? I think hypnotism is good for relaxing and you can bring yourself into this deep state yourself, and when you relax you can recall. But I do not personally think the brain will work like this that you will remember it with Hypnotism like something you might see on TV.
Basically the language is in your brain as most memory problems are extraction rather than formation problems. To get an old memory out you need to clear the roads that were once wide and large, metaphorically speaking and the best way to do that is relearn it. Maybe if you immerse yourself in it it will come back. My father who has not spoken Polish since he was a boy came to Poland and sure enough in two weeks in his seventies he was remembering it and with a great accent and perfect grammar. My Uncle Pete, God bless him is 94 and if I speak Polish to him he starts to remember it. Even if the memory is lost, it leaves an impression. See the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind”. And this impression is an openness so relearning will be easier. Does this answer your question, ask more if you like and language learning.
As a child I grew up in a Spanish country and spoke fluent Spanish. I was 9 when my parents separated and I came back to Canada. Considering that my primary language was Spanish, would I be able to retrieve my Spanish through hypnosis? Perhaps go back to my youth when I spoke it fluently and bring back the memory?
My Uncle is 96 and my father 82 and they remember the language of their youth, not because of hypnosis, but because they practice it with me. Even though they have not spoken it since they were a child for about 50 + years.
Better than hypnosis is just using it and relearning it.
You will have native speaking sounds, this is in your brain, you just have to use it.
My first language was Spanish and when we moved to the US when I turned 4. I stopped speaking altogether for a few months. I dropped weight drastically and my parents took me to many doctors to find out what was wrong. Finally a psychologist diagnosed me as having gone through a traumatic state much like PTSD and through time I would recover. I began to speak about 3 months later and but only spoke English and refused to speak Spanish. I have always been almost terrified to speak Spanish most of my life but now that I’m older would like to see if perhaps hypnosis would help me remember. Do you think it’s possible?
I think you can try, even self hypnosis and meditation can help you, but you would have to review with drills and traditional method because although the words are there they need help coming out, but because of PTSD but the pathways are old and need clearing.