Dictionary everywhere

I was in Europe for 4 months backpacking and studying. This was a long time ago and electronic dictionaries didn't exist (or if it did, it probably costed an arm and a leg AND it probably sucked). But pocket dictionaries were around and were definitely affordable. So whenever I'd go to a new country, I'd go straight to the bookstore and buy myself a pocket dictionary. One that literally fit in my pocket. I would have it on me at all times, looking up things continuously. One place that I used it a lot was at the supermarket. I would look up all my favorite food, many of which are not found in textbooks or taught in class. Also, any idle time that I had, riding in or waiting for a bus, a train, or sitting in the lobby of the youth hostel, etc., I'd just take out the little dictionary and literally look up everything that was in sight.

You cannot get more contextual learning than this method. CLAP at its best. You are literally learning things in your living context continuously; things that you see, things that you eat, your environment, etc. All the words that you learn are relevant to YOUR life.

Who says effective exercises have to be complicated?

Third CLAP requisite: Hard (but smart) work

"The combination of hard work and smart work is efficient work."-Robert Half

In CLAP there are three requisites. And after PURPOSE and ATTITUDE, here's the third and last CLAP requisite: Hard (but smart) work.

Second CLAP requisite: Attitude

“Yes we can.”–Barrack Obama

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!”
–Henry Ford

“Capacity is a state of mind.”
–David Schwartz

CLAP is about knowing yourself, what you like to do or achieve, and what resources are available to you. And then, once you put your mind to it, know that you can do it.

First CLAP requisite: Purpose

"Great minds have purposes; others have wishes."-Washington Irving

So again, why are you trying to learn a new language?

Is it to become a language professional (interpreter, tranlator, teacher, etc.)? Do you want to go abroad for work or study? Is it for traveling or making foreign friends? Do you want high scores for certain qualifications (TOEIC/TOEFL, DELE, etc.) in order to get into a good company or school? Is your motive summed up in "I just feel like it"? Or maybe you are a parent and you want a bright future for your child as a global citizen?

Contextual Language Acquisition Philosophy

Let me start this post with a request to my readers. Please don't expect a one-size-fits-all language-learning "method" here. I don't believe that exists. What I am presenting is a one-size-fits-all "philosophy", i.e., a way of thinking. I call this CLAP, for Contextual Language Acquisition Philosophy. All methods and tricks that have been applied by myself or by my parents in raising me (which I will present in later posts) are all based on CLAP.