I see Steve’s take on the 7 habits of highly effective people is done on youtube. Before he died, Covey wrote a book on the the 8th habit – “find your voice and inspire others to find theirs”. I think Steve is the embodiment of this habit. Any thoughts on applying this in language learning, generally?
Curiously, I find that the more languages I tackle, the more it seems to discourage friends from taking up a language (and I assure you that I am not a proselytizer). “Well, you are talented, you have the knack, you have the time, I’ve never been able to do it, etc, etc.”
When I still taught it was different. Then I was able to inspire students to find something that interested them about the German language. While I was their teacher, I was their motivational springboard. Some of them found their way into the language and soon were up and running.
As a private individual I am regarded with awe and smiling tolerance towards my incomprehensible interest …
I agree with Sanne. It is hard to persuade others to learn languages, or to convince them that they can. Each person has to find their own inner voice. Nor does everyone agree with my input based, interest based approach. All kinds of people are into other approaches and seem to enjoy them and thrive with them.
None of that prevents me from talking about what I find effective and for the right person it can be an awakening to the wonderful opportunities of enjoyable language learning. I am often very gratified to hear from people who tell me that I had a positive influence on their language learning, and even on their lives. It makes it all worthwhile.
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