How the Pimsleur Method Leverages the Brain’s Natural Ability to Learn

The process of speaking ends with the mouth but begins in the brain. Long before you ever spoke your first word, you were learning how to speak your native language in your head – you just didn’t know it at the time!

Pimsleur’s cutting-edge learning techniques, informed by the Pimsleur Method™, mimic the natural, free-flowing process of acquiring a new language.

If you’re interested in how to learn a language naturally, explore a bit of science behind the mind-speech dynamic, and discover how the Pimsleur Method can assist, keep reading!

What Is Natural Language Learning?

You might’ve heard the term natural language learning. But what does it mean? Novice learners may associate natural language learning with the generally accepted techniques common in classroom settings, like heavy grammar work, a focus on reading and writing, and minimal speaking to start.

For whatever reason, what most people think of as natural language learning is anything but that. This technique actually eschews those lessons and exercises that were so common a generation ago.

To get a better idea of this process, hit the rewind button to when you were a child learning your native language. All the inputs you received – watching and listening to adults speak, collective verbal queues, figuring out how to form words and sentences – eventually became the output you desired: clear, concise communication (maybe not at first, but you get the idea).

With that in mind, if you were to draw up a playbook for how to learn a language naturally, you’d focus on:

Audio-oriented skills. In other words, speaking and listening to the language intently.
Recognizing speech patterns. This helps program the brain to remember appropriate speech pace and cadence, along with familiar words. Speech pattern recognition also strengthens short and long-term memory recall.
Prioritizing meaning-making scenarios. Context matters much more than simply memorizing words. Anchoring new learning within realistic situations helps your brain hold onto those new words and phrases.

The natural approach in language learning has been used by billions of people throughout history to learn their first tongue, so we know it works. But how? Let’s zoom in on the science behind natural language learning.

The Science Behind the Natural Method in Language Learning: How Children Learn Languages

The link between brain processing and speech output is illustrated with each element of the natural method of language learning. Here are five key aspects that describe how to learn a language naturally. To put it another way, this is how children learn their first language:

Intake essential audio. All natural language learning models begin with processing sound. Your brain starts to process these sounds (and attempts to comprehend them) well before that first word is uttered. Phonemes, the smallest units of sound in every language, are catalogued in your mind as you listen and collect new words and phrases. The more you listen, the better you comprehend.
Make early speech sounds. Babies and toddlers have an innate desire to speak – the brain subconsciously recognizes that speech is a gateway to understanding the world around them. When a child starts to speak, the brain’s neural pathways – think of these as the backbone and structure of the brain’s wiring system – are enhanced. Plus, when you speak early and frequently, pronunciation improves, along with overall speaking confidence.
Practice spaced repetition. This proven technique involves constant review of information (for example, those sound inputs mentioned above) at gradually increasing intervals. For adults, spaced repetition is associated with flash cards. But when you’re a child, your brain doesn’t need actual cards to develop speech – it’s smart and instinctive enough to draw on your internal catalog in context. As a result, your brain creates recall and recognition through spaced repetition. Spaced repetition is a critical dimension in the natural approach of language learning.
Rest in order to improve. Children are in a constant state of discovery. And learning to speak, at a young age, is always at the forefront of the cerebral cortex, the brain’s multi-layer shell that helps develop speech. It just so happens that a great night’s sleep bolsters neural pathways and connections within the brain. So make sure you catch those ZZ’s – it’s a great way to embrace the natural method of language learning!
Mimic the masters. For children, simply listening and observing adults in conversation is an incredibly effective tool for natural language learning. In fact, a proven and effective way for adults to learn a new language is to shadow expert speakers. Children instinctively do this, since it aids with accent recognition, improves speech rhythm, and increases critical memory skills.

How Adults Benefit from a Natural Method in Language Learning – and How Pimsleur Helps

So how are these principles of the natural approach to language learning adapted by adults? Whether you want to take up a new language at 20 or 50 years old, the good news is that you’ve already applied natural language learning when you were a toddler. Keep a heavy emphasis on audio inputs, apply spaced repetition to improve recall, get a great night’s sleep, and you’re well on your way to reproducing the conditions in which you achieved fluency in your native language.

It also helps to have a world-class, audio-based instructional platform in your corner. With Pimsleur, you’ll use the most important elements of language learning aligned with a natural method. Our entire language learning program is designed to get you immersed in a new language, with a focus on speaking and listening.

Start Improving Your Skills Through Pimsleur’s Natural Language Learning Model

Pimsleur’s natural approach to language learning is unparalleled. That’s because the Pimsleur Method, at its very core, is a natural language learning method. When Dr. Paul Pimsleur developed the Pimsleur Method in the mid-20^th century, he knew the most effective technique was to help adults learn to speak the way children do.

Discover everything Pimsleur has to offer on your language learning journey, and see how natural language learning can help. Sign up with a Pimsleur subscription today!