"Subconscious vs Conscious Learning" by A.J.Hoge From Effortless English
Languages should be learned subconsciously, not consciously. The research shows that subconscious learning of English is much better than consciously “studying” the language.
In countless studies, the result is always the same: students who learn English subconsciously learn faster and better than students who use traditional, conscious, analytical study methods.
So, what exactly are subconscious methods and what are the traditional conscious methods?
Well, you already know the old conscious way of learning English. You use your conscious brain to analyze English grammar, memorize English vocabulary, and translate English messages. This is the method you used in school. You consciously studied the mechanics of English, as if it was a car. You cut up English with your mind and then studied the parts…. word by word,… rule by rule.
The result, as you know, is that you know a lot about English grammar rules and translations– but you can’t speak well and you can’t understand native speakers.
Subconscious methods are more effective. These methods provide understandable English input to your brain… and then your subconscious brain does all of the rest of the work. Consciously, all you do is enjoy English stories, articles, conversations, movies, and novels. You never think about grammar rules. You never attempt to memorize words.
Of course, the Effortless English System is a subconscious learning system. You learn grammar by listening to our crazy Mini-Stories. We carefully repeat grammar patterns during the story… but you don’t think about any rules. You just listen and enjoy the story consciously… but subconsciously, your brain learns English grammar.
When you learn in this way, you can actually use the grammar too! Your spoken and written English grammar will improve tremendously. And it will be stress free. It will feel automatic– you’ll just say things better and write things better and it will feel effortless. You won’t be thinking about rules at all!
You must trust yourself. So many students are afraid to use subconscious methods because they don’t trust their own brains. They are afraid to relax and enjoy English learning. They are afraid to let the learning happen naturally and effortlessly. Unfortunately, these fearful students almost never learn to speak English well.
Don’t be one of those students. Change your way of learning. Learn English subconsciously and finally speak excellent English!
