Multitasking is a buzz word for today’s world.  If you have the time it is nice to be able to do one thing at a time.  But when we work, have a family, friends, church, civic groups, children, grandchildren and on and on and on, just where do we find the time to learn a language?

Mothers are always doing two things at once.  They fix hair, give baths, do homework, fix meals, clean, and wash clothes, all at the same time.

My experience has been the same … you learn a language while you are doing something else.  It is the concept of synergy … or the principle of 1 + 1 = 8.

I listen and interact with my Linguaphone PDQ Spanish Course or Pimsleur Comprehensive Spanish Course while I am driving into the city or to the doctor’s office.  I listen while I am out walking and at the same time, looking at the autumn leaves or flowers.  I listen while hiking in the mountains.  I listen while I am at the gym on the treadmill or lifting weights.  I listen while I am riding my bike.

The key is to do two things at once.  You use the time that you have to do something, like driving someplace, or exercising and also doing something that you want to do in this same time period.  So instead of sitting down and using a half hour listening and interacting with a language course, you use a half hour driving and use that same half hour listening to your course.  Now figure that out.  In one 30 minute period you are driving, plus you are listening for 30 minutes.  So instead of adding up to 30 minutes, it adds up to 30 minutes of driving and 30 minutes of listening.  That one 30 minute period now is equal to 30 + 30 = 60.  You have doubled your time’s value.  Not bad!

Now think of the things you can do this with. While waiting at the doctors office to get in for your appointment or while driving, biking, walking, hiking, boating, and flying.  You get the point.  Figure out all of the times in your life that you can do this and in the time that you drive to work an hour or two, back and forth each day, you can learn a language.

I went out and bought myself an inexpensive MP3 player about the size of a package of gum.  It is very light but it holds over 30 language lessons.  I go to the gym, hang it around my neck, turn it on and start listening to my language course.  I do this at least 5 times a week, each morning.  While others are watching TVs or watching people exercising, I am learning a language.  I go to the gym to try and keep my body in shape, but in addition I am exercising my brain cells and accomplishing something I have always wanted to do … learn a language.

You find the time to learn a language by using the time that you are using for something else.  It is called doing two things and once.

Pick out a language today and get started!

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