Speaking only one foreign language, which is most often English, can bring about feelings of monotony, boredom and lack of progress in terms of learning. On the other hand, it may give rise to a desire to start studying a new language. There are numerous ways to learn and perfect it. These techniques can be used at home, during journey or as a form of entertainment and relaxation. There is, however, one method different from the most popular ones.
A few words about Michał Perliński
There are various learning techniques that we are familiar with, but it is definitely worth getting acquainted with the curious case of Michał Perliński. A man with an amazing ability to learn languages.
Michał Perliński was born in Gliwice. At the age of 2 he moved from Poland to Germany. Thanks to his parents, he became a bilingual child. His upbringing influenced his further education. He then took up studies in Germany – he became a student at the Slavonic Studies Department of Bochum University. Nevertheless, he has never wanted to be a translator. He wished to devote himself to science and conducting research on languages at the university.
A method unlike anything else
As a child, Michał Perliński developed an interesting memorizing technique. He learned it at the age of four. He has been using the association method ever since. He also has a photographic memory, which facilitates the task. According to him, in order to remember a word it is enough to look twice at it. Moreover, he associates letters with appropriate colors and then he learns the word by remembering the color scheme. He doesn’t do the typical grammar exercises nor does he keep any language notebooks. His method enabled him to master over thirty languages and he is still learning more. Despite knowing so many of them, he is not boastful. Out of all the languages that he knows, he can fluently use fifteen, but is also able to communicate in the remaining ones. He considers it his real passion, even though he spends only a few hours weekly on learning.
There are plenty of methods which can be used for language learning. Apps, films, music and books offer a variety of techniques which enable us to achieve a desirable outcome of acquiring a new language. Nonetheless, it is worth having this extraordinary method in the back of our minds as it may turn out to be much more effective!
(Translation K. S.)
