When learning another language, I enjoy seeking out new experiences.
For example, the other day I went to get a haircut here in Taipei in order to:
Get a haircut (my hair was getting too long for my liking) and,
Be exposed to new words and expressions I might not encounter on a regular basis
Novelty and memorable experiences helps vocabulary stick.
While getting my hair cut, I made small talk with the hairdresser. I noticed she frequently used the word 落差 (luocha)。I didn’t know what it meant, but I was able to guess the meaning due to context.
When I am in a new environment, I pay far more attention than I do in a familiar environment. For example, when I walk home from the train station, my mind is frequently elsewhere. It’s an unconscious process. However, in the hair salon I was focused.
The higher level of focus combined with the repetition of the word 落差 (luocha) has made it so I don’t think I’ll ever forget the word again.
I realized something mind boggling the other day. In every language I speak, I can tell you one or multiple stories about how/why I know many, perhaps most, of words I know. That sounds crazy, even to me as I write this blog post because I know thousands of words in each language. Here are some examples of rather mundane words I know and the memories I have associated with each one:
Window - 窗戶 (Mandarin): I used to run a window cleaning business and it comes up in my conversations relatively often.
Sink - Évier (French): I would always take the dishes to the sink when I lived in France and forgot how to say this word many times before it finally stuck. I essentially vowed to never forget this word ever again, haha.
But - Pero (Spanish): I don’t know why, but I chuckle inside when I think of the word “pero” because the word “but” in English sounds exactly like the word “butt.”
Seek out new experiences in your target language to see if you have the same experience as me.
I’m flying out to Singapore with a Taiwanese friend tomorrow. I will have a 5-day immersion of only speaking Mandarin with him. I’m sure we will make plenty of memories and I will learn so much as a result.