Innovation in Language Learning
Learning Three Languages in Ten Minutes: Examining Valery Kurilinsky’s Ideas through Auto-Ethnography
Irina Ruppo, University of Galway (Ireland)
Abstract
This paper discusses the ideas on self-directed language learning by the Ukrainian musician, educationist and polyglot Valeriy Kurinsky (1939 – 2015). Kurinsky’s approach is innovative and departs on several points from popular ideas on language motivation and language learning n the English-speaking world. Kurinsky recommendations include mandatory learning of three languages at the same time, reading advanced literary texts, frequent switching between languages, phonetical tuning of the vocal tract as an aid for differentiating between the languages, and creative use of mnemonics to learn circa 100 words in the target language(s) in three days [1] [2]. Drawing on auto-ethnographic material collected for a year, this paper compares Kurinsky’s theories, formulated in Russian in the 1990s and early 2000s, with those of several popular English-language guides on language learning, including Gabriel Wyner (2014) and Alex Rawlings (2017), and explores his method in the light of current theories on language learning, particularly in relation to self-learning and learner autonomy [5].
Keywords: Auto-ethnography, kurlinsky, self-learning, language-learning
REFERENCES
[1] Kurinsky, Valery. Постпсихологическая автодидактика. Ч. 1: Лекции. Изд. 4-е. доп. — Киев, 2006. — 408 с. [Post-psychological auto-didactics . Lectures. 4th edition]. Kiiv 2006 – 408. P.
[2] Kurinsky, Valery. Когда нет гувернантки… Автодидактика для детей и взрослых. — Москва, 1997. [When you don’t have a governess … Auto-didactics for children and grown-ups] Moscow 1987.
[3] Wyner, Gabriel. Fluent Forever (Revised Edition): How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It. Harmony, 2014.
[4] Rawlings, Alex. How to Speak Any Language Fluently: Fun, stimulating and effective methods to help anyone learn languages faster. Hachette UK, 2017.
[5] Oxford, Rebecca L. "Learner Autonomy, Learning Strategies and Learning Tactics in Independent Language Learning." Language learning strategies in independent settings 33 (2008): 41.
