Listen to learn, learn to listen.

      A much neglected aspect of conversation, even in one’s mother-tongue, is the very simple act of listening. Most of us -think- we’re listening, but in actuality we’re busy thinking of the very next thing we want to say and then waiting for the other person to stop talking.
      Listening, as we’ve all been told, is more than just hearing the words someone is speaking, but really paying attention to the meaning of the sentence. DON’T do that! As an exercise, today, for just TWO minutes, when you’re listening to somebody speak, try to pay careful attention to exactly what they’re saying. That is, listen and make note of what words they’re saying, repeat them to yourself if you like. Think of other conjugated forms of the same word, and just generally try to focus on the -sound- of a word and try to get at its meaning from there.
      This is exactly the problem that has plagued language learners around the world who mistakenly subscribed to the ‘vocabulary vomit’ method of learning; memorizing words and trying to spit them back out at somebody in order to communicate. You’ll be heard, but what you think you’re saying isn’t what you mean. (In fact, this is often true of even your native language.)
      Here is the simple trick that you can put into practice TODAY, and not only expedite your language learning, but enhance your everyday interactions as well. Instead of trying to listen for words you’re familiar with in a song or a sentence; simply believe that every word the speaker is speaking means something. Instead of just trying to listen, you’ll be opening your ears to the meaning that gets through. Whether or not you agree with the person’s point of view, you can believe that that what they’re saying is true for them.
      The truth is that using a language is the same as breathing. You can control it when you paying attention, but as soon as you let your subconscious take control, it becomes natural and automatic.
      Remember, let the meaning of conversation come from the person, not the words; the way it was meant to be.
      I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my favorite books, ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, first in French, then English:

      J'aurais dû ne pas l'écouter, me confia-t-il un jour, il ne faut jamais écouter les fleurs. Il faut les regarder et les respirer.

      “I should never have listened to her," he confided to me one day, "One should never listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance."

      Until next time, be well and always keep learning.