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It really seems so easy. Just put on the CD or tapes, relax in bed and learn English (or another foreign language) while you sleep. Have you ever seen those ads that say, “Learn English While Sleeping” or that promise “effortless” language learning by listening to a tape or CD while you relax or take a nap? With the continual rise in the study of English as a foreign or second language, (EFL, ESL) progressive TEFL English and foreign language teachers, foreign language learners, and educational administrators need to be aware of the implications posed by claims of “learning English (or another foreign language) while you sleep. To better understand the processes involved let’s first look at each of them individually in turn. In this first part of the series, we’ll examine the elements of sleep.

What is Sleep?

The state of sleep is generally defined as “the resting state in which the body is not active and the mind is unconscious.” A more extensive definition is offered by Webster’s New World Dictionary (third ed., 1989); “sleep: a natural, regularly occurring condition of rest for the body and mind, during which the eyes are usually closed and there is little or no conscious thought or voluntary movement, but there is intermittent dreaming”.

Sleep is also likened to death. In the Holy Bible (NWT, 1981) at John 11: 11 Jesus says, “Lazarus or friend has gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep.” Then in verse 14 Jesus clarifies his meaning of “sleep”, “At that time, therefore, Jesus said to them outspokenly: Lazarus has died.” In describing death the bible continues at Ecclesiastes 9: 5 stating, “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.” Sleep then, is characterized as a condition typically devoid of conscious thought. Have you ever slept through a severe thunder storm, a series of car alarms going off, an explosion, an earth tremor (minor earthquake) or dogs barking loudly at night? Completely unconscious, right? For even further clarification, here are some characteristics of human sleep.

Characteristics of Sleep

Characteristics of sleep in humans are:

lying down, if possible although sleep is possible in almost any position according to studies done on astronauts and in sleep study centers

Eyes are closed, but sleep can occur with opened eyes in an environment devoid of light and / or distraction

You don’t hear anything or do not consciously respond to external sounds depending on the level, depth or stage of sleep

Slow, rhythmic breathing pattern (which might be altered during dream stage)

Muscles are completely relaxed with the exception of altered states of sleep or reaction to dreams or abnormal physical conditions

Person may occasionally roll over changing positions

Stages of Sleep

On the average, a person goes through five stages, or levels of sleep. The stages each have distinctive characteristics and determine what the brain and body are capable of.

Stage One - 4-5% Light sleep. Muscle activity slows down

Stage Two - 45-55% Breathing and heart rate slows. Body temperature decreases

Stage Three - 4-6% Deep sleep. Slow Delta waves begin

Stage Four - 12-15% Very deep sleep; brain produces Delta waves

Stage Five - 20-25% Rapid eye movement (REM); dreaming occurs

Why Do We Sleep?

For the most part, sleep allows several vital functions to take place. It is an essential physical and mental state with which we cannot do without. Our sleep allows us:

To repair muscles and other tissues

To replace aging or dead cells

An opportunity for the brain to organize and archive memories, that is in part, to transfer data and memories from short to long-term memory

Lowers energy consumption (balance of enzyme production achieved, i.e. blood glucose levels, electrolyte levels, etc.)

To recharge the brain (diminished supplies of fluids and enzymes in organs and lymphatic system can be replenished during sleep)

How Much Sleep?

Most young adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, but the quantity of sleep required can vary depending on age, daily activity, diet, nutrition and other physical and / or psychological factors. Sleep deprivation can directly affect:

Short term memory

Performance

Efficiency

Physical health

Emotional health

With 30 to 40 million Americans suffering from serious sleep-related disorders, the effect of sleep on learning and cognitive competencies is of serious concern.

In the next segment of this series, “Learn A Foreign Language While You Sleep: Theoretical Approaches”, we’ll look at both recent and current language-learning theories and approaches and how some might seemingly provide some support for these claims.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an ELT Teacher Trainer, English language learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. He has published more than 350 articles and academic papers and presented at numerous EFL teacher training and TEFL conferences throughout North America, South America and Europe. For comments, questions, requests, to receive more information or to be added to his free TESOL articles and teaching materials mailing list, e-mail: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

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A New Approach Every Decade

It seems with every decade a new approach or theory of English or other foreign language learning comes into vogue. Keeping up can be daunting, even exasperating for TEFL English teachers worldwide. Each of us has our own environment and particular situation in regards to materials, facilities, time constraints, knowledge, training, skills and abilities among other venues. Let’s not even talk about administrative demands. Despite these, there are some commonalities. Our EFL / ESL learners all want the same thing in varying degrees - to develop English language skills.

So first, let’s consider some ways people can learn new information or develop new skills and abilities. Regardless of currently accepted approaches or theory some aspects are staple and constant. There are, essentially, nine ways students learn new information or develop new skills. These key methods are:

Observing someone else, then copying their actions

We all know this one. It made millions for Arthur Murray and numerous other dance instructors. We watch, and then we try until the movements are fluid and natural looking. It takes two to Tango in more ways than one. Ever watch an infant? As you coo and talk to him / her, they watch your mouth intently. Later, they’ll try to mimic you and other speakers. It works, of course. After all, YOU can talk quite well now, can’t you?

Practicing doing something on our own

Actually, I learned to play rudimentary chess this way, practicing by “playing” against myself for hours on end. Many fishermen learn and develop their skills using this method as well. For language learning, students could try using CDs, tapes, videos or mimicking speakers live, on TV or radio.

Having a personal instructor or trainer

From learning to skate to getting a Black Belt, this is a preferred method for many physical skills. When learners attend a formal class this method is being incorporated too.

Taking a course from a knowledgeable person or source

For study and learning of abstract knowledge like the arts, language or music, most people would tend to use this method. At some point or another most learners do attend a class in the target language, especially in the USA, England, Canada or Australia where English is the first language of the people.

Keep trying and failing until the action, sequence or information is “acquired”

Whether growing a new business or learning to ice skate, this is one way, albeit a painful one at times, to learn a new skill. In acquiring speaking and listening comprehension skills, learners need to continually try and “fail” in the production and comprehension efforts.

Following guidelines or instructions on how to do something

Want to build your own computer? Assemble a model plane, car or boat? Hit a straight drive or bowl a 300? Most likely you’ve used this method with electronics or in assembling a toy, a framework, and a piece of furniture or something like a tent. In a language pronunciation segment, learners follow speech reproduction guidelines to improve their sound production accuracy.

Think about each of these methods or approaches and I’m sure you’ll come up with some skill, ability or knowledge you obtained using several of them. You’ll likely also note that different types and kinds of skills required different approaches on your part. You likely tried to learn something in one way, failed, and then tried another approach or two successfully. So keep learning. Keep growing and Good Luck.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an ELT Teacher Trainer, English language learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. He has published more than 350 articles and academic papers and presented at numerous EFL teacher training and TEFL conferences throughout North America, South America and Europe. For comments, questions, requests, to receive more information or to be added to his free TESOL articles and teaching materials mailing list, e-mail: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

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While the lure of “learning English or another foreign language while you sleep” may be highly provocative and tempting for all of us in this not-enough-time-to-do-everything world, there’s still no “easy out”. Learning a foreign language can be a life-long pursuit or a summer project. In this second installment of our quest, we’ll briefly examine some theoretical approaches to English language or foreign language learning.

Theoretical Approaches

English Language Teaching and Learning theories support a number of useful, valid approaches for foreign language or second language acquisition. Considering the major language learning theories previously or currently prevalent, let’s briefly examine any basis for “sleep learning”. The following language learning theories have all been popular or prevalent during our current or recent decades:

Grammar / Translation method (F. Boas and O. Jespersen)

Direct Methods

Audio-Lingual (Darian, 1972 et al.)

Computer-Aided Language Learning

TPR - Total Physical Response (J. Asher, 1965)

The Silent Way (Gattegno, 1972)

The Communicative Approach

Suggestopedia (Lozanov, 1978)

The Natural Approach (Krashen-Terrell, 1983)

Neuro-linguistic Programming (Bandler and Grindler, 1982)

The Lexical Approach (Willis, 1990 et al.)

Community Language Learning ( C. Curran et al., 1972)

Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, (H. Gardner, 1983) while not strictly a language-learning theory, nonetheless, has had considerable application to language learning and acquisition. Of these, the following have aspects which seemingly might promote or support the concept of “sleep learning”. They are: The Silent Way (Gattegno, 1972), Suggestopedia (Lozanov, 1978), and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (Bandler and Grindler, 1982). Let’s briefly examine each of these.

The Silent Way

The Silent Way (ref. Richards and Rodgers, 2004) was developed by Caleb Gattegno (Gattegno, 1972) and is a method based on the premise that the English, or foreign language teacher, should be “silent” as much as possible and the language learner encouraged to produce as much language as possible. But while the method requires minimal external input on the part of the language teacher, it does provide for problem-solving, “discovery learning” and creation of memorable images to facilitate learner recall. Problem-solving and discovery learning certainly can not occur during the noted stages of sleep. Creation of “memorable imagery” is possible, especially during the dream state, but how many learners remember these images with any frequency?

Suggestopedia

Suggestopedia, also known as Desuggestopedia, developed by Georgi Lozanov (Lozanov, 1978) is based on a “science concerned with the systematic study of non-rational or non-conscious influences”. Music and musical rhythm to place the learner in a relaxed state, called Psuedo-Passiveness, (also ref. Krashen-Terrell, 1983; the Affective Filter Hypothesis) and to pace or structure the linguistic material also figure heavily in this approach. But using this method, learners must still “visualize” a context for the material to aid in its memorization. Materials are dramatized through varying tone and rhythm of audio readings the learner listens to. Cognitive skills such as context visualization and memorization are not actively applied to learning during stages of sleep.

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)

Neuro-linguistic Programming or NLP is a collection of techniques, patterns and strategies for assisting effective communication, personal growth, change and learning based on a series of underlying assumptions about how the mind works and how people act and interact. (Revell and Norman, 1997) In the mid-1970s, John Grindler (Bandler and Grindler, 1982) and Richard Bandler (Bandler, 1985) developed NLP as an alternate form of psychological therapy. A series of step-by-step procedures that would enable people to improve their lives, therapist could use these techniques in building rapport with clients, gather information about their views and help them to achieve goals and bring about personal change. (ref. Richards and Rodgers, 2004)

A behaviorist approach though, requires conscious effort and application of cognitive, meta-cognitive, communicative and social strategies. (Rubin, 1987) As such, this does not take place in full during stages of sleep. Conscious, active effort and application are genuinely required over an extended period of time for full benefit. For an even more detailed look at implicit and explicit approaches to teaching and learning grammar, see the article: “Grammar Teaching: Implicit or Explicit” available online at:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Grammar-Teaching:-Implicit-or-Explicit?&id=89342

Apart from theory, methodology and didactics, language is a communicative tool. It allows us, as humans, to share our knowledge, thoughts and ideas in a way and at a level that none of the other animal species ever can. But what actually constitutes good practice in English or foreign language learning? How can we identify or become a good language learner? In the third installment of the article series, “Can you really learn English or another foreign language while you sleep?”, we’ll examine some of the many aspects of good language learners.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an ELT Teacher Trainer, English language learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. He has published more than 350 articles and academic papers and presented at numerous EFL teacher training and TEFL conferences throughout North America, South America and Europe. For comments, questions, requests, to receive more information or to be added to his free TESOL articles and teaching materials mailing list, e-mail: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

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