How we learn a language

We all use language in fun and interesting ways, even when we don’t think about it. Our industry brings us together with people from all over the world, even some of the folks attending this conference will speak English as a second or even third language.

In a past life I was a teacher of english as a foreign language, and these days I’ve kept that passion for languages alive by becoming multilingual myself.

I’ll speak about how we pick up a programming language in much the same way as we learn to speak a natural language and then integrate ourselves in the culture surrounding that programming language in much the same way.

I’m not going to talk at boring lengths about language theory, but instead evaluate how we learn a language as humans – regardless of its origin. I hope to make it clear that you can apply some of – if not all – the same skills you use to easily pick up a new programming language to give you a real leg-up in learning a foreign language.

Transcript

1. How we learn a language @ryanstenhouse http://www.freeagent.com
2. Hello! • @ryanstenhouse • http://ryanstenhouse.eu
3. How we learn a language
4. http://ryanstenhouse.eu/talks/how-we-learn-a-language for picture credits.
5. You’ve already learned another language! http://ryanstenhouse.eu/talks/how-we-learn-a-language for picture credits.
6. You’ve done it before!
7. écoutez et répétez
8. http://ryanstenhouse.eu/talks/how-we-learn-a-language for picture credits.
9. Programming Ruby is available at http://pragprog.com
10. Shibuya, 2005 (I’m an awful photographer) ? ? ? ? ?
11. Osaka Tokyo ~250 miles apart Sounds like a different language
12. Map (c) 2012 Microsoft and Terra Italy, From http://binged.it/Oy4PMV PCCL’s Office in 2007 My beat up Ford Mondeo
13. We’re problem solvers
14. Pragmatic Thinking & Learning is available at http://pragprog.com
15. Pragmatic Thinking & Learning is available at http://pragprog.com “Programming is all about problem solving. It requires creativity, ingenuity, and invention.”
16. Pragmatic Thinking & Learning is available at http://pragprog.com “… we need to look at the really hard problems of social interaction in and between teams and even at the harder issues of just plain old thinking. No project is an island; software can’t be built or perform in isolation.”
17. Pragmatic Thinking & Learning is available at http://pragprog.com “Programmers have to learn constantly—not just the stereotypical new technologies but also the problem domain of the application, the whims of the user community, the quirks of their teammates, the shifting sands of the industry, and the evolving characteristics of the project itself as it is built.”
18. Pragmatic Thinking & Learning is available at http://pragprog.com “We have to learn—and relearn— constantly. Then we have to apply this learning to the daily barrage of both old and new problems.”
19. Pragmatic Thinking & Learning is available at http://pragprog.com “It sounds easy enough in principle perhaps, but learning, critical thinking, creativity, and invention—all those mind-expanding skills— are all up to you. You don’t get taught; you have to learn.”
20. Pragmatic Thinking & Learning is available at http://pragprog.com “We tend to look at the teacher/learner relationship the wrong way around: it’s not that the teacher teaches; it’s that the student learns. The learning is always up to you.”
21. Pragmatic Thinking & Learning is available at http://pragprog.com
22. Why not treat it like a software problem?
24. BALLE BALL Ϙʔϧ
25. BALLE Ϙʔϧ
26. Vocabulary + Grammar
27. Vocabulary + Grammar
28. It’s all in your head
29. It’s all communication.
30. Break it down
31. Iterate
32. Engage
33. Try it.
34. More Online + Credits • http://ryanstenhouse.eu/talks/how-we- learn-a-language
35. http://www.freeagent.com/jobs